I Love You, I'll Kill You
by psych21
Summary: COMPLETED! Post-Dark Knight. The Joker wasn’t always so twisted and evil. He had a “normal” life before he adopted the Joker persona. He got rid of everything that reminded him of his former life, expect for her. Joker/OC
1. Chapter 1

Title:

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: Post-Dark Knight

Rating: M

Summary: The Joker wasn't always so twisted and evil. He had a "normal" life before he adopted the Joker persona. He got rid of everything that reminded him of his former life, expect for her.

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

Author's Note: This is my first fic in the Batman fandom. I have to admit that I never read the comic books and have only seen a couple of the shows from the animated series. So if I get some details or facts wrong I am sorry!

This story starts about six months after the end of the Dark Knight. So Rachel and Harvey are dead, the Joker was sent to Arkham Asylum and Batman hasn't gotten back into the good graces of the people of Gotham City.

Lacy is an original character but I assure you she isn't a Mary Sue! (At least I have tried my hardest to make sure she doesn't become one of those characters.) Also, don't expect any conventional romance between the Joker and Lacy. It isn't that kind of story. With all of that being said, enjoy and please let me know what you think! I welcome all comments.

Chapter One

_"Police are investigating another home invasion that they believe to be orchestrated by the Joker. As you'll recall, the Joker escaped from Arkham Asylum two months ago and is still on the loose. The robbery occurred late Wednesday afternoon and resulted in the death of a young couple. There has been no word on just what was stolen and police aren't releasing the names of the victims, but…"_

Lacy walked up to the television and reached up to turn it off. As soon as she did, her co-workers complained.

"Hey Lacy, what'd ya do that for?" Chris asked. "We were watching that."

"Yeah! What gives?" Michelle chimed in.

"Forgive me, I just didn't want to hear any more about the Joker." Lacy explained. "Why does everyone in this town feel the need to talk about him all the time? There are other, more important things that we could be focusing on."

"Yeah, but those other things aren't psychos going on a crime spree." Michelle pointed out. "Why should we be watching a news story about the newest panda bear to be born in Gotham Zoo when we can be hearing about the destruction the Joker's doing to our city?"

"Besides, I think he's fascinating and kind of cute." Ramona spoke up.

Michelle rolled her eyes. "Oh please! No offense Ramona, but you'd have to be a real loser to want that maniac. No sane person would seriously be attracted to that."

"I agree. You would have to be pretty messed up in the head to get involved with him. " Kevin laughed. "Ramona, maybe you belong in Arkham Asylum with him. You two could share a cell."

"Ha ha." Ramona laughed, throwing her napkin at Kevin. "Very funny. I'm not saying that I wanna date him or marry him. I just think he has got a certain charm. He's got that bad boy thing going for him."

"You wouldn't feel the same way if he tried to kill you or carved up your face to look like his." Chris pointed out.

"Whatever." Ramona shook her head. "I'm tired of trying to explain myself."

Lacy had stayed out of this part of the conversation because she really didn't have much to contribute. Michelle and Chris were right. No sane person would get involved with the Joker.

"Lacy, can you please turn it back on?" Michelle asked nicely.

"Fine." Lacy gave up because she knew that she couldn't change everyone's minds about this. She turned the television back on to find that they were still talking about the Joker, only now they were showing stock footage they had from his last videotaped message. A few days after he escaped from Arkham, he sent a video to GCN to announce to everyone in Gotham that he was back. That had been the only direct communication he had with the public.

_"This marks the fifth home invasion resulting in murder connected with the Joker. The last one occurred two weeks ago and resulted in the death of millionaire heir Andrew Cobblestone…" Mike Engle reported._

She watched, but only for a moment, knowing if she watched longer than that she would likely breakdown. With a resigned sigh, she turned and walked out of the break room.

Chris followed her, catching up to her fast stride about halfway down the hallway to her office. "Lacy. Lacy, hey, wait up." He lightly grabbed her arm as to get her attention, and then he let her go.

"Yeah Chris?" She asked.

"Why are you so against watching the Joker? Don't get me wrong, I don't like the guy and I think he's completely twisted but aren't you the least bit curious?"

"Curious?" She asked. "About what?"

"Who he is, why he turned out so evil, what he's hiding underneath the make-up? He's a complete mystery to us." Chris explained. "I mean, I wonder sometimes if he was always that crazy and evil."

He wasn't. She thought sadly. There was a time when he was a normal, loving man but that seemed like ages ago. "I'm not curious about that stuff." Lacy replied gruffly, leaving out that she knew the answers to Chris' questions. But even though she knew the answers to those questions, she still felt the Joker was a complete mystery to her. "I don't see the point in dedicating every free moment to watching the Joker."

"Ok." Chris relented, knowing the he wasn't going to get anywhere with her. "Those papers you wanted about the Wayne Enterprises consulting job are on your desk."

"Thanks." Lacy nodded.

"You sure you don't want me to come with you for the proposal meeting tomorrow? It's your first solo pitch meeting. I thought you might want some moral support since it's such a big account."

"No, but thanks." Lacy replied. "I want to do this one on my own."

"Ok. Just thought I would ask." Chris replied as he walked back to the break room. Lacy had started working for Ace Consulting, Inc about two years ago as a junior consultant but worked her way up the corporate ladder quickly. As of two weeks ago, she was made a senior consultant and given quite possibly the biggest account the company had ever seen--Wayne Enterprises. How she got Samuel Drake and the rest of the senior partners to give her that account he had no idea. She had surprised everyone in the office with that news.

No one was surprised by her promotion though. She was a hard worker, usually working an average of seventy to eighty hours a week. He wondered how she managed to have any kind of social life outside the office; however, he never asked her about it. She was strangely silent about her personal life and he got the impression that it was because something terrible had happened to her before she moved to Gotham. Getting her to talk about it would be impossible though because she had brick wall defenses up all around her.

Lacy entered her office and closed the door, leaning against it and sighing. She knew she couldn't stop others from being fascinated with the Joker, but that wasn't her true intention whenever she chastised them for it. She hoped that if she appeared to be against the Joker, her coworkers wouldn't notice the truth.

She went to her computer and turned on the monitor, quickly typing in the website for GCN. On their front page they had a huge picture of the Joker. She stared into the picture, searching for any signs that the Joker hadn't completely swallowed up the man underneath. But, like always, it seemed the Joker was taking over more and more. Sooner or later, there would be nothing left of the good man who had once been a major part of her life—assuming it hadn't happened already.

* * *

Alfred entered the living room with a tray of dinner and laid it on the table besides Bruce's chair. He looked over at Bruce and saw he was going through a bunch of papers. "If you don't mind me asking, Master Wayne, what are you looking at?"

Bruce didn't look up from the papers. "I think there is a link between all of the Joker's latest victims."

"You mean besides the fact that they are all wealthy?" Alfred asked with a laugh.

Bruce laughed and looked up from the papers. "Yeah, besides that. I did some digging and found out that all of the victims were heirs or CEO's of companies that had hired Ace Consulting just prior to their deaths."

"Ah." Alfred nodded. It was all making sense now. "So that is the reason for you hiring the consultant for Wayne Enterprises."

"Exactly." Bruce replied. "I'm hoping to get more information by gaining access to the company…"

"Through this young lady?" Alfred asked, picking up a picture of Lacy.

"Yeah." Bruce answered. "I'm thinking that if I can befriend her then I can gain more access to the company, maybe figure out the link between her company and the Joker."

"Sounds interesting." Alfred stated. "Of course if you can't find out anything from this young lady, maybe you'll get lucky and the Joker will come here trying to kill you."

Bruce laughed again. "Actually Alfred, that's Plan B."

* * *

Later that night Lacy was sitting on the couch with papers strewn across her coffee table. Unlike most nights though, these papers weren't about her job. They were the news reports of all the Joker killings since he had escaped from Arkham. She had printed off all the information she could find about the five home invasion killings, hoping to figure out some common denominator other than money.

The Joker didn't care about money. There was no way he would keep killing Gotham's wealthiest just for cash or expensive art. So the question plagued her. Why was he only targeting the wealthy men of Gotham? What could he possibly have to gain from it?

All of a sudden, she realized something. Andrew Cobblestone's company was a client of Ace Consulting. The company had actually just finished doing a job for them a few days ago. She looked at the names of the other victims.

John Franklin, Parker Short, and George Stanley were all fairly recent clients too. She had worked on the project for Parker Short's company but not on the rest of them. She decided when she got to work tomorrow she would look into it further.

* * *

Down by the ferry, in an old, abandoned warehouse, the Joker sits in his makeshift office. On the walls are candid pictures of Gotham's wealthiest men. Many of the pictures appear to be of the men walking on the street or sitting in their offices. Some of the pictures had big red X's crossed out over the men's faces.

The Joker stared intently at the pictures, deep in thought. Finally, he took out his red lipstick and marked an X over Andrew Cobblestone's face. "You were definitely not what I was looking for." He talked to the picture. "You were no help at all."

He took out a knife from his pocket and spun it around on the table. "So which one of you is going to be next?" As he was contemplating his next move, his cell phone rang. "Yeah, what?"

"Mr. Joker?" The voice hesitantly answered. "This is Samuel Drake from Ace Consulting."

"Why hello Mr. Drake!" The Joker greeted with more enthusiasm. "What's the reason for this call?"

"I just wanted to let you know that we have a pitch meeting with Wayne Enterprises tomorrow. I realize that Wayne Enterprises was on your list companies we need to let you know about if we do business with them." Drake explained.

"I know how the deal works." The Joker rolled his eyes. "I came up with it. Remember?"

"Of course! I didn't mean any disrespect." Drake exclaimed, hoping he wasn't making the Joker mad at him. "Anyway, we have one of our best senior consultants in charge of the project, Lacy Williams."

The Joker had been starting to pay less and less attention to Drake until he heard Lacy's name. While he knew Lacy worked for Ace Consulting, he had no idea that she would be in charge of a project this large. He was going to have to be extra-vigilant with her to make sure that she didn't complicate what he was trying to accomplish.

Realizing that Drake was still droning on about something unimportant, he cut him off. "Thanks for the information. You know what to do when you land the account, right?"

"Yes Mr. Joker." Drake replied.

"Good. We'll talk soon." He hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair for a moment. "Well Lacy, looks like I'll be paying you another visit soon." With a smile and laugh, he turned back to the wall of pictures. Picking up the red lipstick again, he circled Bruce Wayne's face. "And it looks like you are next, Brucie."


	2. Chapter 2

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Summary: The Joker wasn't always so twisted and evil. He had a "normal" life before he adopted the Joker persona. He got rid of everything that reminded him of his former life, expect for her.

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to those who have written reviews on this story, as well as anyone who has read the first chapter! Reviews are very appreciated. :)

Chapter Two

When Lacy got to the office the next day, the first item on her agenda was looking into the link between the Joker's killings and her company. "Sara, can you please get me the list of the company's recent jobs and who was working on the team?" She asked her secretary.

"Sure." Sara nodded. "How far back do you want me to go?"

"Three months." Lacy answered, figuring if she asked for just two months it would seem suspicious. She had even worked out a decent cover story. "I want to see where the company is at in terms of goals for this period and if we are on track for the year-end goals."

"Ok." Sara said, not giving her boss' request a second thought. "It might take awhile to compile that list but I can definitely have it ready for you by the time you come back from your meeting at Wayne Enterprises. Is that ok?"

"That's fine." Lacy nodded. "Thanks."

* * *

Bruce Wayne walked into the elevator at Wayne Enterprises with Lucius on their way to see a presentation from Ace Consulting. "I don't care about the quality of this presentation. I want you to hire them." He instructed the older man.

"Mr. Wayne, if you already know you want to hire them, why have them make a presentation?" Lucius asked, unsure if he would get the whole story. Bruce had a way of only revealing the information that was necessary to know.

"They've already worked so hard on it. They might as well get the to present it." Bruce explained. He wanted to be able to confide in Lucius but knew that he couldn't right now. The real reason he wanted to hire Ace Consulting was because he suspected that they were connected with the criminal underbelly of Gotham--more specifically the Joker. He figured that if he could get close to someone in the company he could gain access to more information. So he contacted them and asked them to send over their best female consultant.

The elevator rang with a soft ding and both Bruce and Lucius were greeted by the other board members who were congregating outside the conference room. "Is everyone here?" Lucius asked his secretary, looking around to double check.

"Yes Mr. Fox. Everyone is here and the consultant is in the boardroom. She's got everything set up so whenever you are ready you may go in." Claudia replied before answering the ringing phone.

"Wonderful." Bruce clapped his hands together. "Let's go in and hear what Ace Consulting has to offer us."

* * *

Almost an hour later

"So you can see that if you hire Ace Consulting, we can help you increase your productivity and efficiency levels by at least 33." Lacy concluded, turning off her power point presentation. "Now I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you may have."

Lucius Fox looked around at the other board members in the room before looking back at Lacy. "I only have one question Miss Williams. When can you start? I think I speak for all of us," he looked back at Bruce to see him sleeping in his chair, "including Mr. Wayne, when I say that you are hired."

"Thank you very much Mr. Fox, all of you. We can get started first thing Monday morning." She smiled.

The group clapped for her before filing out of the conference room. The clapping had woken Bruce up and he realized that he had been sleeping. Feeling guilty and wanting to make a good impression on her, he decided to go greet her.

Lucius Walked over to Lacy, who was almost done getting her presentation materials back into her briefcase. He reached out to shake her hand. "That was a very nice presentation. I look forward to seeing what kind of changes you have in store for us."

"Thank you." Lacy smiled. "I think we can do some really great things here. Wayne Enterprises is a highly successful company. The last thing we want to do is mess with your policies too much, but there is always room to boost efficiency."

"Well is there is anything you need, like an office or anything, just let my secretary know and she'll take care of you." Lucius told her.

"Thank you." Lacy replied.

Lucius saw Bruce coming towards them and nodded at him. "If you will excuse me, I have some matters to attend to. I will see you on Monday."

"Yes you will." Lacy nodded. "Goodbye Mr. Fox."

"Goodbye Miss Williams." Lucius responded, walking towards the door.

Bruce stopped Lucius right before he left. "Those…reports I asked for last week, are they almost done?"

"Yes Mr. Wayne. They'll be done by tonight." Lucius replied, knowing that they weren't talking about reports.

"Thanks." Bruce nodded, continuing over to Lacy. "Nice presentation." He complimented.

She smiled and chuckled softly. "How would you know? You slept through the whole thing."

"The whole thing?" He didn't realize that. "Wow. Sorry about that."

"It's ok." She assured him. "But tell me, do you sleep through all meetings or am I just special?"

"Sadly I do sleep through most, if not all, meetings I attend." Bruce sheepishly admitted. "That's not to say that you aren't captivating. I just had a late night." He went out last night as Batman and had to stop some of the Joker's men from committing petty crimes.

The whole thing became complicated when the police started chasing him too. Thankfully he got away from them. He just hoped that he could find a way to get Batman back into the good graces of Gotham City. It seemed like stopping the Joker once and for all would be the best way.

"You must have a lot of those if you are constantly falling asleep in meetings." She pointed out.

He laughed. "Yeah. I do seem to have a lot of late nights. It's a good thing I'm not a morning person."

"Indeed." She replied. As she was talking to Bruce Wayne, she had to admit that he did have a certain charm about him. In the magazines he was always portrayed as a player, and she could see how he could get that reputation. But she was usually a good judge of character and figured that there was much more to Bruce Wayne than what the public saw.

"Well I may not have heard any of your presentation but I did hear the board's reaction to it and judging by that I would have to say that you did an amazing job." Bruce complimented. "They are a difficult crowd to win over."

"Thank you." Lacy nodded. "Well if you will excuse me Mr. Wayne…"

"Please, call me Bruce." He interrupted her. "I insist."

"Ok." She agreed. "Bruce. If I get to call you that, then you can call me Lacy." She reached out to shake his hand. "It was nice to meet you."

"You too." He watched her gather her purse and briefcase, studying her. She was undoubtedly attractive with a petite build and short, light brown hair that perfectly framed her face. But her good looks weren't what were drawing him to her. It wasn't a romantic attraction. He simply needed to get more information about Ace Consulting and was going to use Lacy to do that. It helped that she was attractive though. It was going to make spending time with her more enjoyable.

"Oh, Lacy?" He called out after her, causing her to turn around.

"Yes?" Lacy asked.

"There is a very boring party for the Wayne Foundation that I have to go to next week. There will be a lot of wealthy businessmen there that it couldn't hurt for you to meet. Maybe you could get some business contacts, or at the very least have an extremely fancy meal. Would you like to accompany me?"

She looked at him and thought about it. There were a million reasons why she should say no, starting with the first one. The Joker. "I don't think that would be such a good idea. After all, I am now working for your company."

"It wouldn't be a date or anything. I just need to show up with someone and I thought if you came with me, it would help both of us. I would have an escort and you could mingle with Gotham's finest, maybe land some more big accounts for your company." Bruce rationalized.

"But why take me? If all you need is an escort there are plenty of women that would be more than happy to go." Lacy asked, slightly suspicious of his motives.

"Other than the reasons I just listed, I am tired of ditzy women. I need a break from them and their romantic entanglements."

No matter what his intentions were, going to the fundraiser would be an excellent way to network and hopefully land more big accounts. Lacy sighed, hoping she wasn't going to regret this, but knowing that she probably would. "Ok. I'll go."

"Great." Bruce smiled. "Leave your address with Lucius' secretary and I will pick you up next Saturday at 7pm."

"Sounds good." Lacy replied, leaving the conference room.

* * *

"How did the meeting at Wayne Enterprises go?" Sara asked Lacy when she came back.

"Very well." Lacy smiled. "I got the account!"

"Congratulations." Sara smiled. "I knew you would get it."

"Thanks." Lacy said. "Do you happen to have that list that I asked for done?"

"Yes I do." Sara replied, handing her boss a very thick file. "Judging by the weight of this folder, I'd say that the company is doing very well."

"Well I guess we'll see about that." Lacy replied, taking the folder and continuing with her cover story. "Thanks Sara."

"No problem." Sara replied before answering the phone.

Lacy took the folder into her office and sat it down on her desk. It landed with a loud thud and she groaned. Going through this much paperwork to find the information she needed wasn't going to be fun, but it had to be done.

* * *

The Joker waited until the fifth ring of his phone to answer, preferring to keep his caller guessing if he would answer. "Hello?"

"Mr. Joker? It's Samuel Drake. I just wanted to let you know that our consultant did in fact land the Wayne Enterprises account and we will be starting to execute your plans immediately."

"Good." The Joker smiled. "Anything else I need to know?"

"No sir." Drake replied.

"Very well then. Goodbye." The Joker hung up the phone without waiting for Drake to say goodbye. He then looked over at the pictures on his wall. "One of you has to be the Batman," he laughed, "and I'm having too much fun finding out which one of you it is."

* * *

It took her awhile but Lacy had finally shifted through the papers and sorted out the ones dealing with the recently murdered men. She put each account into its' own separate pile organized left to right by the most recently dead.

She scanned the documents, trying to look at the bigger picture. All of them were wealthy men and recent clients. She knew that much. Now she just had to look and see if they had anything else in common. It didn't look like they had anything else in common until she noticed that all of the accounts were either led by or supervised by Chris.

She looked at the documents again. "This can't be right." She whispered into the empty room. "It could be a coincidence." It didn't make any sense.

She considered Chris to be a good guy. He wouldn't be involved in the Joker's plans to kill. Would he? She had to remind herself that looks can be deceiving. After all, she wouldn't look like the type of person to be involved with the Joker either.

She desperately searched for any other clues or similarities in their files but couldn't find any. Christ was the only common link. She started to seriously consider if it was possible that Chris would be working for the Joker. But why?

None of this explained why the Joker was targeting wealthy men in Gotham.

She was so deep in thought that she almost didn't hear the knocking on her door.

"Hey Lacy." Chris greeted, popping his head into her office.

She turned her head to see him and nervously smiled. She only hoped he didn't come any closer and look at the papers on her desk. "Hi."

"Just wanted to say congrats on landing the Wayne Enterprises account." He smiled. "We all knew you could do it."

"Thanks." She replied.

"Oh, and one more thing. Mr. Drake and the other senior partners want me to kind of, well, supervise this account."

"Really?" Lacy asked as alarm bells went off inside her head.

"Yeah." Chris nodded. "It's not that they don't have faith in you. They really do. It's just that this is the biggest account the company's ever gotten and they want me there to make sure that if complications arise, you have someone to talk to about it.

"Oh." She nodded.

"I really hope you don't mind." He said. "I don't want you to feel like I'm taking over or anything. It's still going to be your project. I'm just going to be hanging around from time to time to make sure it's going well."

"Ok." She said. "It's fine. I understand."

"Good." He let out a sigh of relief. "I was worried there for a moment."

"There's nothing to worry about." She assured him. "I understand where the senior partners are coming from and there are no hard feelings."

"That's great." He smiled. "Listen, a bunch of us are going out for pizza tonight. Wanna join us? We can celebrate your success from today."

"Oh no thanks." She declined. "I've still got some work to do."

"Ok." He replied. He didn't expect her to say yes, but figured he would ask anyway. Maybe someday she would say yes. "I guess I'll talk to you later then."

"Ok, bye." She said as he left her office. It was weird that the senior partners were having Chris supervise yet another account with a wealthy client. But was it just coincidence or were the senior partners and Chris both in cahoots with the Joker? And why was he targeting the wealthy?


	3. Chapter 3

I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing! Comments are appreciated!

Chapter Three

That night after getting home from work, Lacy curled up on the couch with a book and a big glass of wine. Her eyes skimmed over the book but she wasn't truly reading it. Her thoughts were drifting over to a happier time when a familiar voice brought her out of her reverie.

"Well hello, beautiful." The figure stepped a little farther from the shadow. "Good book?"

"Not really." Lacy shook her head, turning it to look at him. "But I suppose you didn't really come here to talk about literature. Did you?"

"Eh, I thought about joining Oprah's book club, but then I just got so busy with things. And there never seems to be a good time to just sit and read anymore." He mocked her. "There's too much chaos to cause in this city, too many people to torture and kill."

"Why are you here?" She asked, setting her wine and book on the nearby end table.

"Just wanted to see how you are doing," he slowly licked his lips, "check in on things. It's been awhile." If he remembered correctly, it had been two or three weeks since his last visit.

"Not long enough." She muttered, getting up and walking over to where he was. The moonlight was illuminating the makeup on his face and she cursed the fact that he was wearing the makeup tonight. He was the reason why she hated red lipstick.

"Did ya miss me?" He whispered in her ear with a huge smile on his face.

She bowed her head, not wanting to admit to herself or to him that a small part of her had missed him. Well not the Joker himself, but the tiny part of the Joker that was still her Jack. It was too complicated for her to express verbally that she just ignored the question altogether.

Knowing that he was doing a good job of rattling her cage, he proudly walked around her and plopped down in the chair, looking at her eagerly as he did so. With false enthusiasm, he asked, "so what have you been up to in my absence?"

She moved over to his chair, standing off to the side of it. "Just working, making an honest living, and obeying the law. But you wouldn't know anything about those things anymore." She replied, putting her hands on her hips. She knew it wasn't right to bait him, but she couldn't refuse.

"He he he ha ha ha ho ha ha." He laughed at her moxie. She was quite possibly the only person that could talk back to him without major repercussions. "That's right. Of course you are obeying the law, cause you're the good one. That's why we work out so well, my pet." He got up and put his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. With one quick move, he had a knife out and was lightly moving it across her neck, down to her collarbone.

He wasn't surprised that her body stiffened but that was the only indication that she was uncomfortable with the situation. She didn't try to break out of his grasp or have a look of terror in her eyes. She knew her part in the game they played. "I'm the bad one," he moved the knife up to her mouth, "and you're the good one."

The blade of the knife felt cold against her skin and, looking down at the handle, she noticed that he was still carrying around the knife she bought him years ago. It was before he had turned into the monster he was now, during a happier, simpler time… She quickly shook herself out of her reverie.

"You never answered my question. Why are you here?" She asked, focusing on what was happening in the present. She knew most people in this situation would be terrified in this situation. After all, right now she was in the arms of Gotham's most dangerous criminal. But sadly, this was normal to her. They had been playing this game for years now and she was used to it. Sometimes a small part of her even craved it, which terrified her.

He would threaten her, pull knives on her, maybe slap her around a few times, or make shallow cuts into her skin, but never cause serious harm to her. As sick as it may sound to others, there were times when she wished he would just end it. End the pain, end the constant longing for the past, and end the loneliness.

But for some reason he never does.

He never causes her real physical pain—only emotional pain. He excels at causing her emotional pain, probably because it pleases him to do so. She could tell that he gets a natural high off of her sadness.

"I'm here," he licked his lips, "because I heard you got a big promotion at work. I wanted to say congratulations."

"Thank you." She replied with a roll of her eyes, knowing that was not the reason he was in her apartment. "Now what's the real reason?"

"So smart, so very very smart." He smiled and paused. "You really are so smart. I love that about you." He took the knife away from her skin and placed it back into his breast pocket. Then he grabbed a hold of her hair and pulled her head back slightly. "I've also heard that you are going to a party with Bruce Wayne next week."

"It's not a date, if that's what you're wondering." Lacy told him, knowing that he thought it was. "I'm only going to make business contacts."

"That may be the truth, but the thing is, I can't allow you to go." He explained. "You see, you belong to me and I don't remember giving you permission to go."

"That's because I don't need your permission." She defiantly spat at him, breaking his hold on her and backing away a few feet. "I don't belong to you anymore, contrary to your warped beliefs. You gave up any claim you had on me and how I run my life when you started wearing makeup and calling yourself the Joker. The moment you started killing innocent people you lost all say on what I do or who I do it with."

"Watch it my pet," he warned, "I would watch what you say to me very carefully."

"Why?" She laughed. "Because you're the big bad Joker? Gotham's number one criminal mastermind? Everyone else in this town may be scared of you, Jack, but I'm not. You should know that by now." She taunted, knowing she was dancing on a very thin line. Sure he had yet to hurt her, but it didn't mean he was incapable of doing so.

"Don't call me that!" He screamed at her. "That name holds no meaning to me anymore and if you're as smart as I think you are you will stop calling me that."

"And what if I don't, Jack?" She baited him. "What are you going to do then? Carve my face up to look like yours? I don't think so." She knew she should stop baiting him, but he just made her so mad sometimes and the only way she could express it was to bait him.

"Maybe I should carve your face up." He smiled, pulling the knife back out of his pocket. "Maybe that would be the perfect way to get you to stop being insolent." He came at her with the knife in his hand and a crazy look in his eye. "Come here. You need to learn some manners."

She instantly realized that she may have pushed him too far and for the first time was becoming truly scared for her life. She was contemplating what to do next. He would be able to tackle her if she tried to run for the front door, which left her with few options for escape. But she knew that she had to stay calm and made sure not to show her panic on her facial expressions. He would get too much pleasure from seeing her squirm.

"You know," he said, "you look way too serious. Let's put a smile on that face!" He lunged at her again and she moved backward. It was almost like a dance. For every step he took towards her, she took two back.

Before she knew what was happening, she backed up into a wall in the bedroom. He was only few feet away from her at this point. Realizing she was stuck in a corner with no way out, she closed her eyes and resigned herself to her fate. "Ok." She took a deep breath. "Just get it over with."

He looked at her for a moment, studying her carefully. Then he popped the knife back into his pocket. "Don't worry, beautiful. I'm not going to hurt you right now." He ran his gloved fingers across her face. "You have such a pretty face. You really do need to smile more."

His voice sounded almost tender, as tender as it could be. When she realized that he wasn't going to carve her face up, she slowly opened up her eyes and looked at him suspiciously. "I smile plenty when you're not around."

"Yeah. I know." He grinned and raised his eyebrows. "You smile a lot at work with your supposed friends, but how many of them know you? I mean, really know you? The real you? The you that I know? How many of them know about your association with me?" Her silence told him what he needed to know. "That's what I thought. None."

He pushed a piece of hair that was covering her left eye off to the side of her face. "Let's think about this for a moment. You have no family and no real friends. "You are completely alone, like me."

"I have friends." She told him.

"Really?" He laughed. "Then tell me something. Why are you at home alone or working alone at the office every night? How come no one ever comes to visit you?"

"It's not because I can't make friends or don't have them. There are people who care about me. I just can't have them come over because I never know when you're going to show up and start killing them."

"I wouldn't do that if you have people over." He replied. Then he thought about it for a second. "At least I probably wouldn't. Depends on who you had over, I guess."

He let her enjoy a moment of silence before continuing. "But how do you think your supposed 'real' friends would react if they found out about our…" he waited for the right word, "connection. How many of them would still want to have anything to do with you after all the destruction and heartache I've caused this city?"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." She told him, trying to walk away from him but he grabbed both of her shoulders and held her up against the wall.

"Well I do, so humor me." He informed her. "I can answer that question. None of them would want anything to do with you. And do you want to know why?"

"No but you're going to tell me anyway." She softly replied, getting annoyed by this conversation. She didn't want to think about what would happen if anyone found out that she had been in contact with the Joker on a semi-regular basis. Although she wasn't an accomplice to his crimes, no one would be able to understand why she hadn't turned him in to the police or even Batman yet. Hell, she couldn't even understand why sometimes.

"It's because they would blame you for everything bad that has happened here over the past couple of years. You would be their scapegoat. Hell, they'd probably try to burn you alive and it would all be because you haven't said a word about me to anyone. You haven't turned me in to the police or Batman and that, to the good citizens of Gotham City, makes you responsible for everything I do."

"No it doesn't." She contested, even though she knew there was truth in his statements. She knew that the city would eat her alive if they ever found out about her connection to the Joker. That was why she didn't have people over or let anyone get too close. She didn't want people to find out her secret.

It wasn't a secret she really wanted to keep. But a long time ago she gave him her word that she wouldn't tell anyone about him or who he used to be. And for some crazy reason, she never went back on her word.

It's not like she hasn't wanted to turn him in. She's picked up the phone a million times to call the police, but something stops her every time. It's like he has an invisible hold over her.

"Yes, unfortunately it does." He grabbed a hold of her hands. "Your hands are just as stained with blood as mine. Just another thing we have in common, my pet." He licked his lips. "But we are getting off topic again." He leaned in and started whispering. "You can't go to that…" he made a disgusted face, "party with Bruce Wayne."

"You can't dictate my life anymore." She leaned in and whispered.

"You're trying my patience." He warned with a chuckle and a grin.

"You're killing my soul." She told him.

He laughed. "So we're even then?"

Despite herself, she laughed. "Something like that, I guess."

"Good. Then it's settled." He smiled.

She figured this was her best chance to ask him the questions that were bothering her. "What's with all of these home invasions that end in murder? What are you trying to gain?"

"Who says I'm behind them?" He asked, feigning an innocent look.

"I'm not stupid so don't treat me like I am." She told him. "I, as well as the rest of the city, know that you are behind them. Now answer my question. What's in it for you? What plan are you hatching?"

"What makes you think I have a plan?" He asked.

"You always have a plan." She sighed. "So what it is this time? And why are you only targeting wealthy men that use my company? Is this some sick way to get back at me?"

A long, deep laugh emanated from his vocal cords as he stroked her cheek with his gloved hand. "My dear, don't be so vain. You must learn that not everything I do is about you."

"But why use my company?" She asked. "All of your victims hired my company before they died. Are you telling me that's a coincidence?"

"No." He replied sternly. "I'm telling you it's none of your business. I don't want to discuss my business with you. Just because you're my wife doesn't mean I give you sneak previews of my games. You have to wait just like everyone else."

"I'm not your wife anymore…" She started to protest but was cut off when he closed the gap between them and roughly placing his lips on hers. She pushed at him, trying to get him to break the hold he had on her, not wanting to succumb to this sick game they always played.

She managed to break free from the lip lock but not from his embrace. "No. Not tonight. Not again. I don't want this."

"Don't you know by now that you can't say no to me?" He asked with a grin. "You've never been able to say no to me. Like it or not, you crave this. You may not like me anymore, you may despise the person I've become and long with all your heart for me to go back to being plain ole' Jack, but deep down you live for this. You love the excitement and the games we play."

"That's not true." She weakly protested. "I hate the games that we play."

He thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, you probably do. You've always been a better person than I. But it still doesn't stop you from enjoying this." He pulled her towards him, kissing her as he pulled her towards the bed.

"I'm going to that party next week." She told him, momentarily breaking away from the kisses that assaulted her mouth.

He didn't say anything, just continued kissing and undressing her. But in his mind he was formulating his plan. If she was determined to go the party, then maybe he would have to make an appearance too. He would show her that it was a bad idea to go against his wishes.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks for the comments! They are really appreciated. :)

Chapter Four

_Lacy was at the stove stirring the eggs in the pan and keeping an eye on the pancakes. "Jack, stop!" Lacy playfully exclaimed as Jack tickled her. "I'm trying to cook breakfast."_

"_Why don't we just have cereal?" He asked, spinning her around to face him. "That way we can save some time and go back to bed for awhile."_

"_Alexis is going to wake up any minute now." Lacy reminded him. "We don't have time for that right now. Besides," she gave him a quick kiss and winked, " didn't you get enough last night?" _

"_Babe, you know I never get enough of you." He started kissing her neck. _

"_You're insatiable." She laughed. _

"_No," he corrected her as he kissed his way down her arm. "I'm just in love—hopelessly, endlessly, passionately in love."_

"_We have a good life, don't we?" She smiled, running her hand across his face._

"_We have a great life." He corrected her with a grin. "And it's only going to get better. I promise." _

The next morning Lacy was woken up by the sound of the alarm clock that she didn't remember setting. It was Saturday and that was usually her designated day to sleep in until noon but, looking at the clock, she saw that it was seven in the morning. She moved to stop the incessant noise and found a note taped to the table.

_"Last night was fun. We really should do it more often. J"_

Her thoughts couldn't help but drift back to the events of last night. After he was done with her she went into the bathroom to take a shower, desperate to get his smell off of her and try to forget what had happened. She only accomplished one of those goals. When she got out of the shower he was gone, but that was normal. It's not like he was the type of man to stay and cuddle after sex anymore, and she wouldn't want him to.

Few words were exchanged during the actual act of sex and none were spoken after. That was just the way it was now. It was a stark contrast to how sex used to be between them. He used to be a gentle and caring lover, but the words 'gentle' and 'caring' no longer applied to him in any context.

She really hated the fact that her mind would protest but her heart and body would give in to him so easily. Her mind knew it was wrong to continue to let him take her. She probably could have even made him stop if she really wanted to, but he was right. She did sometimes crave the physical connection they shared.

As much as she hated to admit it, the sex between them was still good. He enjoyed it more than she did, and she tried to not be an active participant in the act. But there was something about the intensity of it that drew her in.

She hated the fact that she enjoyed it. What she really didn't enjoy was the guilt and shame she always felt afterwards. She groaned as she took the note he left and crumpled it into a ball. Then she angrily threw it across the room.

She realized that she only hates him ninety-nine percent of the time. She hates the games, the killings, the way he makes her feel and the way he's destroyed her life. She often wonders why they can't let go of each other. "Probably because I'm a fool and he gets too much of a sick pleasure watching me suffer."

Since she was already awake she decided she might as well get up. So after stretching for a moment she got up and put on her robe. On her way into the kitchen to make breakfast she turned on the television, only to see GCN covering an explosion at a downtown nightclub. She turned the volume up slightly so she could hear the report while in the kitchen making coffee.

"Police are investigating what caused the explosion at the trendy nightclub spot Scorch. It happened right around closing time last night. Fire crews managed to contain the fire within a couple of hours but as you can see there is nothing left of the building. Twelve people are dead and twenty-seven more have been admitted to the hospital, with seven of those people being listed in critical condition. Most were admitted for smoke inhalation but we are being told that those who are more seriously injured suffered second and third degree burns on at least ten percent of their body. Witnesses say they thought they noticed men walking around before the blast wearing clown masks, but weren't sure because of the lighting in the club. Police are hesitant to announce whether or not they believe this to be the work of the Joker…"

"Of course it's the work of the Joker." Lacy turned down the volume and opened her refrigerator. "If it happened at closing time that would be around three in the morning. He left here sometime after one. That would give him plenty of time." She couldn't help but talk to herself as she made breakfast.

She laughed in spite of herself as she realized the connection between the name of the nightclub and the fact that he started a fire there. "Oh. Scorch. Ha ha. Very funny."

* * *

Bruce walked into the kitchen and sighed as he sat down on one of the bar stools at the island.

"Something wrong?" Alfred asked as he sat a plate of bacon and eggs in front of Bruce.

"Nothing new." Bruce replied. "I should have been able to stop the Joker from blowing up that nightclub."

"You did the best you could." Alfred assured him.

"I barely did anything." Bruce corrected his friend. "I could only get three people out before the police showed up. I could've helped more if I wasn't having to constantly hide from the police."

"That will pass in time." Alfred told him. "Besides, you had to take the blame for Harvey. Gotham needed you to…"

"How has that really helped?" Bruce asked. "Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if I made the right choice. The way I see it, the streets aren't any better than they were before. They're actually worse. At least back then I was working with the police instead of against them. Criminals feared me. Now they don't respect Batman's ability to stop them."

"Commissioner Gordon's doing the best he can for you." Alfred pointed out.

"I know," Bruce acknowledged, "but he can't do that much. He can't suddenly call off the warrant out for my arrest without a very good reason. And everyday I'm not allowed to fully do my job is another day that the Joker and the criminals of this city win. I could've stopped the nightclub from being blown up if I wasn't so wrapped up in trying to escape the police."

"You can't really believe that you made the wrong choice taking the blame for Harvey's crimes, right?" Alfred asked. "You did what had to be done for Gotham. Gotham needed to believe that Harvey Dent was one of the good guys."

"But at what cost?" Bruce wondered. "I can't properly protect Gotham anymore."

"I know you are frustrated Master Wayne, but you just have to…"

"If you say endure Alfred, I swear I will…" The last thing he wanted to hear was Alfred telling him he had to endure this. That had been Alfred's mantra over the past few months and it was starting to wear thin on his nerves.

Alfred had been thinking of saying 'endure', but thought against it. "You just have to be more patient. I understand that this is a difficult time but it will get better."

"It's not going to get better until I can stop the Joker." Bruce pointed out. "That will solve all these problems. It will get the Joker off the streets, stop the killings, and hopefully get Batman back into Gotham's good graces."

* * *

The Joker leaned back in his chair, watching the television coverage of his latest destruction. While destroying the nightclub had nothing to do with his plan to uncover the true identity of Batman, it was a nice way to pass the time. It got boring waiting for his men on the inside of Ace Consulting to complete their part of the plan. In the meantime, he continued on with random killings and explosions.

Proud of his destruction and chaos, he took a deep breath to savor the moment.

Last night was a good night. Not only did his visit with Lacy go well but he also caused a lot of chaos. "Oh the joys of multi-tasking."

While he was with Lacy, his men were scooping out the nightclub and placing explosives in key places to maximize destruction. Then when he left Lacy's apartment he headed over to detonate the explosives and watch the building become engulfed in flames.

"I love this job." He stated as the television report showed earlier footage of the fire.

He was disappointed when GCN stopped covering the nightclub story and turned off the television. Still leaning back in his chair, he thought about Lacy.

He realized that still keeping her around and not killing her was something most criminals would consider a mistake. Perhaps they would be right. She was, by definition, a 'loose end'. It could be a mistake to keep her alive, but so far she had kept her promise to never reveal his former identity or the information she has on him.

He wasn't naïve though. He knew the day could come when her conscience would overtake her and she would start to spill all she knew. He realized the day could come when he would have to kill her and he even had ideas on how to do it.

The only problem was that he could only kill her once. That would mean he would eventually have to choose which way to kill her. It saddened him because he had several delicious ways he could make her meet her demise.

It wouldn't bother him to actually kill her though. For as much as he loved playing mind games and having sex with her, he could easily live in a world without her. Unlike Jack, he didn't love Lacy. Instead, he appreciated her finer attributes and exploited her love of a man who no longer existed for his own infinite pleasure.

No. To say that he loves Lacy would be a gross lie. He definitely doesn't love Lacy. He loves the games, the way he messes with her mind and the way he's destroying her life. When she told him last night that he was killing her soul, it had made him ecstatic. He loved the fact that he was slowly and methodically killing her soul.

He loved knowing that he has isolated her so that she's alone in the world, afraid to make friends or reach out and make meaningful connections with others. He loved having his men watch her every move and then have them report back to him.

But he definitely doesn't love Lacy.

Lacy's feelings are much more complicated though. He's caught her looking at him from time to time as if she was wondering if he could still change back to her beloved Jack. The answer was and always will be no. Jack is gone forever and it's now the Joker's turn to live.

Lacy still doesn't completely believe that though, especially in the beginning. He had to laugh at the memory of one of her previous attempts to 'change' him back.

"_Jack, you can't do this." Lacy pleaded. "Please. You have to stop this foolishness." _

"_First of all," he said, "stop calling me Jack. I am now the Joker. You will call me that from now on. Second of all, this is not foolishness. This is my life now. If you can't handle that then perhaps it's time for me to send you to meet Alexis in heaven."_

_"__You son of a…" She couldn't believe what she was hearing and immediately brought her hand up to slap him, only to have him grab her arm. _

_"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He warned, bringing a knife out from his pocket. "I would hate to have to hurt you, but won't hesitate to if you make me."_

_She pulled her arm out of his grasp and let it fall to her side. "Please stop this. It's not too late to stop. We can leave this city and start over somewhere new where they don't know us."_

_"__No. That will never work. If we leave this city then I'll still be the same person I am here." He laughed. "Now what will it be? Are you going to stop trying to change me back or are you going to get re-acquainted with this knife?"_

_She sighed, knowing that there was no way to have a serious talk with him right now. "I'll stop." _

"_Good." He smiled, putting the knife back in his pocket. He then snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. She was reluctant to come at first but he got her to come closer. "You better get used to the new and improved me because I'm not going anywhere." _

"_Yay." She whispered sarcastically._


	5. Chapter 5

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks for the comments! They are very appreciated!

Chapter Five

Monday morning soon rolled around and Lacy begrudgingly went to work on the Wayne Enterprises job. She was afraid of what was going to happen to Bruce Wayne. She knew from the Joker's pattern that Bruce was going to be the next victim of a home invasion killing, yet she couldn't warn him.

She couldn't just stand around and watch the Joker kill yet another innocent person though, could she? She hated this feeling. She was completely stuck. If she didn't warn Bruce, he would be dead soon. If she did warn him, she would be exposing her secret to the world and face immediate, certain death at the hands of the Joker.

It was a lose-lose situation.

Her only idea was to gather proof that Chris was the insider working for the Joker. Then maybe she could convince Chris to go to the police. It wasn't the best plan she had ever come up with, but it was the only thing she could think of right now.

So she went to Wayne Enterprises and started in on her work.

* * *

Chris nervously entered Mr. Drake's office, not looking forward to what information he had to relay to his boss.

"Christopher!" Samuel Drake greeted from behind his desk. "Come in and close the door."

Chris made sure to close the door tightly so that Mr. Drake's secretary wouldn't be able to hear the conversation. He then walked over to a chair that was in front of Mr. Drake's desk. "Mr. Drake, I have some information for you that I think you need to be aware of."

"What is it?" Drake asked, hoping it wasn't bad news.

"It's about our…project with Mr. J." Chris started.

"What about it?" Drake asked, starting to get nervous. "Is there a problem?"

"It might be nothing, sir. But I felt I had to let you know about it." He hated having to do this because the last thing he wanted to do was sell out Lacy, but he had no choice. He knew enough to know that if he was working for the Joker there was no room for error. "I think someone might be on to us, or more specifically, me."

"Really?" Drake asked, caught off-guard by this information. "Who?"

"Lacy Williams." Chris regretfully answered.

"Lacy?" Drake laughed. "What makes you think she has any clue about your involvement in our project?"

"She's been having her secretary dig around in the archive files, compiling lists of recent accounts and personnel assigned to those accounts." Chris explained. "She claimed that she was trying to make sure the company was on track to meet the period goals."

"Why would she be doing that?" Drake wondered aloud. "That's not her job."

"Exactly." Chris interjected. "I didn't understand either until I told her about how I was going to be overseeing the Wayne Enterprises account. She's suspicious and I think she's starting to figure things out."

"We need to take care of this immediately. We can't let Lacy compromise this operation or we'll all be dead." Drake concluded. "I'll call the Joker and see what he wants us to do. He may want us to handle it or he may want to do it himself but we'll let him decide."

"Ok." Chris replied, getting up. "Let me know what he says."

"I will." Drake replied. "And thanks for letting me know about this."

"No problem." Chris shrugged. He stepped out of the office and leaned up against the door. He hated having to tell his suspicions about Lacy. He considered her a friend and didn't want to see anything bad happen to her, but he also had to look out for himself. He had signed away his life to the devil when he agreed to be a part of this deal with the Joker.

It all started when the Joker covertly bought out the company. He then proceeded to blackmail the senior partners into doing his bidding. He ensured that the senior partners made it a priority to snag high profile clients. He even gave them a list of companies that he wanted the firm to land accounts with.

He still had no idea exactly how he ended up getting mixed up in this mess, but he was and there was no going back now. His part was simple; he would befriend them and try to get as much personal information about the target as he possibly could. Then when he had found enough information to satisfy the Joker, he would find out when the target was sure to be home all night. The Joker and his men always took over from there.

He didn't like the position he had placed himself in. Sure the money he was getting was great, but he couldn't help but wonder if he would be alive long enough to fully enjoy it. Then there was also the fact that people were being killed because of his involvement with the Joker. Although he knew that the Joker would have killed them even if he wasn't involved, it still didn't do much to ease his conscience.

"Mr. Edwards?" Elise, Mr. Drake's secretary, called out. "Are you ok?" He had been leaning against the door for a long time and looked like he was deep in thought about something. She was starting to get worried about him.

"I'm fine." Chris replied, moving away from the door. He realized he had been standing at Mr. Drake's door for too long and needed to get back to work.

* * *

Lacy had settled into the temporary office she had been given at Wayne Enterprises. The three other junior associates working the account with her had been given the use of a conference room just down the hall. She had to admit that she was glad she was given a private office. It gave her more private time to think.

Looking at the clock, she realized it was almost lunchtime. She wasn't too hungry and didn't want to waste a lot of time going out and getting something. So instead she grabbed her wallet and headed down the hall to the break room. On her way, she saw Bruce.

"Hello Lacy." Bruce greeted her with a warm smile. He had actually been on his way to her office to say hello and see how things were going.

"Hello Bruce." She greeted back. It was awkward seeing him now that she knew that he was going to be the Joker's next target.

"How are things?" He asked. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, I do." She replied. "Thanks. Lucius' secretary has been extremely helpful. Actually, everyone has been great so far."

"I'm glad to hear that." He smiled. "So what are you up to?" He asked, pointing to her wallet.

"Oh." She laughed. "I'm going to go get some lunch from the break room."

"Mind if I walk with you?" He asked.

"Sure." She agreed as they headed into the break room. She wasn't sure why he wanted to go with her, but decided to let him. "I'm surprised to see you here before noon."

He laughed. "Well I had a meeting that I had to sleep through this morning."

She laughed too. "Glad to see you're consistent." She stood in front of the snack machine and tried to figure out if she wanted something salty or sweet. After about a minute of thinking, she finally made her decision.

She opened up her wallet and retrieved a dollar bill for the machine, not noticing the picture that fell out. She pressed the button for her selection and waited for it to drop.

Bruce saw the picture fall out and bent down to pick it up for her. Curious, he took a look. It was a picture of Lacy with longer hair, holding what looked like a miniature version of herself. "Cute kid." He commented, holding up the picture.

Lacy turned her head to look and was surprised to see him holding the picture. She opened her wallet and saw that it must have slipped out earlier. "I can't believe it fell out. Thanks for picking it up." She took the picture back from him and quickly tucked it back into the safe confines of her wallet.

Losing that picture would have devastated her. She was glad Bruce had found it but wasn't looking forward to answering the questions he was certain to ask.

"No problem." He replied. "That was you with long hair, right?"

"Yeah." She nodded, bending down and picking up the bag of Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies. "That was taken years ago."

"I think I like your hair better short." He commented, still curious about the other person in the picture. "If you don't mind me asking, who was the kid? She looks exactly like you."

"It was my daughter, Alexis." Lacy explained. "She actually died a few weeks after that picture was taken. It's the last picture I have of her."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Bruce told her. Now he felt incredibly bad for even bringing the subject up. "I shouldn't have…"

"No, it's ok." She assured him. "You didn't know. Honestly, how could you know? It was several years ago and while I can't say I'm completely over it, but I like to think that most days I've made peace with it."

"There's a part of you that always hurts when you lose someone you love." Bruce added.

"Yeah. That's true." She nodded in agreement. She really didn't want to talk about this anymore because if she did, she would end up sinking into a million memories from that time and she didn't want to do that right now. "Anyway, I should get back to work."

She moved past him to leave the break room but turned around when he called her name.

"Lacy!" He called out. "I'm really sorry for bringing that up."

"Don't worry about it." She shrugged it off. "It's fine."

"Enjoy your lunch." He told her, motioning to the bag of cookies.

"Thanks." She smiled. "It's the lunch of champions."

* * *

"Now you know what to do once you get there, right?" The Joker asked two of his newest henchmen after explaining the plan.

"Yes." They agreed at the same time.

"Good. Now one more thing…" He was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. "Hold on a moment." He told his henchmen before answering the phone. "What?"

"Mr. Joker. It's Samuel Drake."

The Joker was confused about why Drake was calling him. "Why are you calling me so soon? Have you already completed your part of the plan?"

"No. Not yet." Drake replied. "I'm calling because we might have a slight problem."

"What kind of a problem?" The Joker asked, starting to get annoyed.

"I have an employee who is digging their nose into our business. I think they might be close to establishing a link between us. They are very suspicious and I think it's only a matter of time before they find out…"

"Ok." The Joker interrupted. "That's not a difficult problem. Just get rid of that employee. Then the problem is solved."

"You mean fire them?" Drake asked.

"Fire them?" The Joker laughed. "No no no Mr. Drake! I mean kill them. Kill them and then the problem is taken care of."

"Mr. Joker, I'm afraid I can't kill anyone." He didn't want to personally kill anyone. That wasn't what he had agreed to when making this deal with the Joker. His duties were clearly outlined and murder was not on the list.

"It's not that hard." He assured the older man. "I'm sure you can do it."

"No, I'm sorry but I can't." Drake insisted. "I was thinking maybe one of your men could do it?"

"I feel like I have to do everything around here." The Joker sighed. "Ok, Mr. Drake. You win. I'll have my guys do it." He looked over at his two new henchmen. "In fact, two of my guys will be over in a half hour. You can give them all the information you have on this troublesome employee. They will make sure that the problem is permanently solved tonight."

"Thank you very much." Drake said before hanging up.

The Joker put the cell phone back in his pocket and looked at his new henchmen. "Boys, there's been a change of plans!"


	6. Chapter 6

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has let me know that they are enjoying this story! Comments are loved.

Chapter Six

Lacy left Wayne Enterprises late that night, choosing to work later than everyone else. It was about ten thirty when she got off the subway and switched to traveling by foot. She knew it wasn't safe for a woman to be walking in the city alone after dark, but she wasn't afraid. Besides, it wasn't a long walk to her apartment anyway.

She was almost home when she realized that there was someone behind her. She had no idea how long they had been there but was pretty sure that they were following her. Quickening her pace, she heard the person behind her walking faster too. She debated about whether or not she should start running when a guy suddenly appeared in front of her.

She stopped a few feet away from the person and turned slightly to see the other guy closing the gap between them. She took a closer look and realized both had on clown masks. They were the Joker's men. She wasn't sure if that was a comfort or a curse.

"What do you want?" She asked calmly. "Do you want my purse? Cause you can have it. It's yours."

"We don't want your purse." Greg, the guy in front of her answered with a chuckle.

"Then what do you want?" Lacy asked again, still not worrying too much about the situation she was in.

"You've been digging around at work in places you don't belong. We're here to stop that." Greg explained.

Lacy figured that the Joker sent these guys to her in order to get her to stay out of his business and wasn't too afraid of them. She chuckled. "Ok. I've been warned. Go tell your boss that I won't interfere anymore." She moved to step around the guy but felt him grab her arm. It was a strong grip and she was sure that it would leave a bruise.

"Not so fast." He told her as the second guy came up behind her and held a gun to her head. "We have orders to terminate you from your job."

"You really don't have to do that." Lacy told them, wondering why the Joker was allowing his men to do this. Several questions entered her mind. Had she really made him that mad by asking questions about his plans last week? Were they really going to kill her on the streets like this? Was the Joker watching this from a distance to see her reaction? Was it all a setup? She couldn't be sure.

"Yes, we really do." Greg laughed. He looked over at his accomplice. "Go ahead."

It wasn't until she heard the guy give the order to kill her that she realized this wasn't a setup or a joke. This was really happening and there was a good chance that in a few seconds she was going to be dead. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the worst.

But she never felt the gunshot. Instead, she heard the guy behind her drop the gun. She turned to see Batman beating up on the Joker's henchman. She watched as he deflected all the punches the henchman tried to land on him and ended up getting so preoccupied watching that she forgot about the other guy.

She quickly remembered however when Greg picked up the forgotten gun and grabbed her.

He wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her to him, pointing the gun to her head as he watched Batman. He was unsure what to do now that Batman was here. It was his first time encountering Batman and wanted to make sure that he lived through it.

He wanted to run away but knew that the Joker would be extremely angry if he returned without finishing the job. Staying wasn't an appealing option either though because few criminals ever got away from Batman without being killed or taken into police custody. He quickly decided that he would try to finish the job he started.

Lacy realized that the guy holding her was distracted and took this opportunity to elbow him in the stomach and step on his foot. This made the guy drop the hold he had on her, but he didn't drop the gun. She got away from him and was starting to run away.

"Stop." The henchman called out, pointing the gun directly at her head.

She turned and saw that he was pointing the gun at her head. She also saw that Batman was standing behind him, ready to hit him over the head with a trashcan. "And what if I don't stop?" She baited him with a grin. "You gonna shoot me?"

"Yeah. That's the pl…" The guy didn't get the chance to finish his sentence before Batman knocked him out with the trashcan.

"Are you ok?" The raspy voice of Batman asked as he took a few steps towards Lacy.

"Yeah, thanks." She mumbled before starting to walk towards her apartment.

"Wait!" Batman called out, quickening his step to catch up to her.

"What?" She asked, not turning to look at him.

"You need to stay and give a police report about this." He told her.

She laughed. The Joker would just love it if she did that. "Yeah, I don't think so."

"Why not?" He questioned as he continued walking along side her.

"Because I don't want to get involved in the Joker's business." It was a half-truth. She really didn't want to be involved in the Joker's business any more than she already was. Going to the police about this incident would only spell trouble for her and she didn't want to bring that upon herself.

"Why were those guys after you?" He asked.

"Don't know." She lied. "Maybe they saw a woman walking alone after dark and decided to try and get lucky."

"Did they tell you why they came after you?" He asked.

"No." She lied, not really wanting to talk to him anymore. She didn't understand why he wasn't getting the hint. She didn't have time for this right now. She was angry with the Joker and wanted to know why he sent goons to kill her.

"Is there any reason why the Joker's men would be coming after you?" Batman asked.

"No. Not that I know of." She lied again as they reached her apartment building. "Now if you will excuse me this is my stop."

"Don't you find it the least disconcerting that the Joker's men were after you?" He asked.

"Don't you have to go run from the police or something?" Lacy countered his question with her own question.

"Damn." He breathed. He heard the faint sounds of police sirens and knew that they were coming this way. There was no way he could get back to the bat cycle before the police showed up. "Could I please come up and stay for a few minutes until the police go away?"

She didn't want him to. She had things she needed to do, like get in touch with the Joker. But he had saved her life so she guessed that she owed him that much. "I guess so." She shrugged. "But just for a few minutes until the police leave."

* * *

In an apartment across the street, two men sat in front of the window with surveillance equipment on the floor around them. "Shouldn't we call the boss about this?" Dale asked his partner.

"I don't know." Chip replied with a shrug. "We probably should, but I don't want to be the one to do it. He's not gonna like this at all."

"Well I don't want to be the one to tell him either but one of us has to do it. He will only get more angry if we don't tell him and he finds out some other way." Dale reminded him.

"True." Chip agreed. "Ok. Let's play rock, paper, scissors. Loser has to call the Joker."

"Ok." Dale nodded. On the count of three they both revealed their moves. Chip went for scissors while Dale went with rock. "Rock crushes scissors." He handed Chip the phone.

"Damn." Chip cursed. "A deal is a deal though." He dialed the number and waited for an answer.

"Hello?" The Joker answered, expecting it to be his two new henchmen telling him they were done with their assignment.

"Mr. J, it's Chip. I have something you need to know." He spoke nervously. It wasn't easy to anticipate how the Joker would react to bad or unexpected news.

They had been given the assignment to watch some girl's every movements, although they had no idea why the Joker was so interested in knowing what she did. They would follow her everywhere she went and report back to the Joker at designated intervals. The Joker had also rented an apartment across the street from her apartment so they could watch her while she was home.

Usually there was no activity in her apartment. She didn't really go out much or have people over. Nothing usually happened while they were following her. But tonight there was some action. They noticed two other of the Joker's men following her so they hung back and kept their distance.

The Joker had told them to never interfere in her life or let her know that they were there, so that's what they did when they saw one of the guys pull a gun on her. Things later got complicated when Batman came into the picture.

They didn't know whether to run from Batman or to keep watch over the girl. In the end, they ended up going back to the surveillance apartment to keep away from Batman. They figured it would only be a matter of time until the girl came back to the apartment and they were right.

They just didn't plan on seeing Batman enter the apartment with her.

"What do I need to know?" The Joker asked, feeling impatient. The two guys he sent over to take care of the employee from Ace Consulting should have checked in by now. He wasn't worried about them though; he just wanted to know that the job was taken care of.

"Well, we were following Lacy home tonight and, well, I…we saw…"

"Stop stuttering and spit it out." The Joker commanded.

"Two of your guys tried to kill her." Chip blurted out.

"What?" The Joker exclaimed, surprised by this news.

"I think they were your guys." Chris explained. "They had on the masks."

The Joker started to piece everything together. He really should have asked Drake who the employee was that had been digging around and he should have realized that Lacy was the one Drake was talking about. He felt like a fool and he hated that feeling.

Damn. He had really wanted to be the one to kill Lacy.

"So what happened? Is she dead?" The Joker asked, assuming that his men completed their task.

"Not exactly." Chip answered nervously. "Batman showed up and saved her."

"Batman?" The Joker started to fume. He hated when Batman interfered.

"Yeah, but the really weird thing is that he came back to her apartment with her and they seem to be talking." Chip hated being the one to tell the Joker about this and cursed himself for losing the game of rock, paper scissors. He should have known that Dale would choose rock.

"Oh really?" The Joker mused, starting to grow more and more furious by the second. "Thanks for the information. Call me when the Batman is gone." He promptly hung up the phone. "What could she be talking to the Batman about?"

As relived as he was that she was still alive for him to kill, he was furious that she was talking with the Batman. He made a mental note to get the video camera surveillance system installed in her apartment tomorrow. He realized it was time to step up his monitoring of her activities.

He really hated the fact that he got so distracted by the major plan that he almost let some inexperienced goons kill Lacy, and with a gun! No, she deserved to die in a much better, more sophisticated way.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

Chapter Seven

Lacy let Batman into her apartment and kicked off her shoes. She then moved to sit down on the couch in an attempt to relax. This was not the way she expected her evening to go. She thought she would come home, get some wine and go to bed. Instead, she had to deal with the fact that the Joker tried to have her killed and now Batman was standing in her living room.

She didn't know what to think about the Joker's attempt on her life. She always figured that when he decided to terminate her he would be the one to do it. As morbid and weird as it may seem, she had almost counted on dying at his hand and was slightly angered that he would send some lackeys to do it.

And then there was Batman.

She was grateful to him for helping her out, but at the same time, she didn't want to have anything to do with him. She didn't want him to find out about her connection with the Joker because then he would try to get her to turn on him, and she couldn't do that. She also didn't want the Joker to find out about her helping Batman out by keeping him away from the police.

"So you really don't know why the Joker's men were after you?" He asked again.

"No." She lied, acting indignant. "Why would I know anything about that madman?"

"I'm just trying to figure everything out." He replied as he watched her.

"Well I wouldn't bother. It seems like the Joker does random things all the time, at least that's what I gather from the news reports." She told him.

"Perhaps." He nodded, watching her carefully. "Aren't you worried that he will send more men after you?"

"Nope." She answered with a slight shake of her head. "I figure I'll die when I die."

He was intrigued by her answer. Most people were afraid of dying but she seemed almost at peace with it. "That's an interesting perspective."

"Well what can I say?" She shrugged her shoulders. "I've lived in Gotham City long enough to realize that most of the people here won't live to see their eightieth birthday."

She had come to peace with the fact that she could die at any moment. For one thing, she lived in an extremely crime-ridden city. She also was connected to the most dangerous man she had ever heard of or met. She knew it was only a matter of time before the Joker decided she was a liability that he couldn't afford. While she wasn't happy about it, she had accepted it.

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Lacy got up and headed into the kitchen to get a glass of wine. She decided to change the subject and deflect the conversation back to Batman. "You know, for whatever it's worth, I don't believe you killed those cops or that you deserve to be hunted down by the police."

"Really?" He asked, intrigued again. It wasn't often that he met someone who believed his innocence. "Why is that?"

"Because it makes no sense." She explained, taking a sip of her wine. "Why would you bother to kill some worthless crooked cops but leave a mastermind like the Joker alive and well? Most people in your position would do the opposite. They would kill the Joker and leave the crooked cops alive in order to minimize casualties and bring peace to the city."

She went back to the couch and sat down again. "So either you're dumb as a bag of rocks or you're taking the blame for someone else."

"And who would I possibly be taking the blame for?" He asked, wondering how she knew that the cops who were killed had been crooked cops. It wasn't information that was readily accessible to everyone.

"Don't know for sure." She lied. The Joker had told her everything about Harvey Dent after he broke out of Arkham. He had gloated about his achievements, from killing Rachel Dawes to turning Gotham's 'white knight' into nothing more than a killing freak. "To be completely honest, it's none of my business."

"Fair enough." He nodded.

"I do have one question though." She said, looking up at him.

"Ok. Go ahead. I'll answer your question." He told her.

"Ok." She stood up. "Why didn't you kill him? You had the chance. It would have been so easy. So why didn't you? Why couldn't you end the chaos for everyone? Were you really that naïve to think that he wouldn't find a way to escape?"

"Technically that's four questions." He laughed, deciding to turn the tables on her. "Why do you think I didn't kill him?"

It was her turn to laugh. "I think it's because you have a misplaced sense of right and wrong. How many people have you killed?"

"I'd rather not say." He replied, avoiding the question. He didn't like to think about that. Even though the people who died at his hands were usually criminals, it still weighed heavily on his conscience.

"I'll bet you've killed many people while fighting them, but you've never actually meant to kill." She guessed. "Am I right?" His silence was enough to make her think she was correct so she continued.

"So you don't intentionally kill, which means that you won't kill the Joker unless you are locked in some heated battle that requires you to kill him in order to save yourself. And you probably do this to justify and rationalize the violence and destruction that you yourself cause."

"I help protect Gotham, I don't cause destruction." He corrected her.

"I beg to differ." She told him. "You cause destruction, just not the same kind as the Joker. See he destroys everything in his path, either physically or emotionally. He takes something or someone and twists them around until they are no longer the same person or object they once were."

"You seem to know a lot about the Joker's psyche." He commented.

"I'm just observant." She explained, continuing on with her point. "You on the other hand, cause a different kind of destruction. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that you helped me out today and I think you have done some great work for the city. I just think you are more like the Joker than you care to realize or admit."

"I'm nothing like him." He denied.

"You're definitely not as evil or crazy, but you do share some qualities." She argued. "There's a thin line between good and evil. People straddle that line everyday. Sometimes even the best of men can turn bad." Her thoughts turned to the past.

_"I get that you want to make people pay for their crimes, but isn't that the job of the police and legal system?" Lacy reminded her husband. He had just come back from setting fire to an accused rapists' house._

_"The police and legal systems have failed us and many other people." Jack explained as he closed the gap between them. He smiled and raised his right hand to gently stroke her face. "I am doing what the law can't. I am bringing justice and peace to victims."_

_"But this is dangerous and illegal." She protested. "I understand why you feel you need to do this, but I can't agree with you that this is a good idea. I think it's a horrible idea and I hate it when you go out." _

_"Is that why you keep throwing out my makeup?" He asked, more amused by her antics than upset._

_"I throw away your makeup because you don't need it." She replied. "You're a grown man. You don't need to be wearing makeup all over your face." _

_"But I have to look different when I go out there or everyone will be able to tell who I am. The makeup is a part of the Joker persona." He leaned in to kiss her forehead. "Why do you have such a problem with this?" _

_"I guess I have such a problem with it because I worry about this persona you've adopted. When you go out there you call yourself the Joker, wear makeup and God only knows what else you do…"_

_"I don't commit crimes, Lacy, I help avenge those who are victims of crimes but can't get justice the normal way." He clarified. _

_"I know that." She assured him. "It's just a slippery slope between good and evil. I don't condone this and I can't sit back and watch you do this."  
_

_"What are you saying?" He asked, his eyes narrowing as he watched her. "That you will leave me?" _

_She sighed. "You have to know by now that I love you. I love you more than anything else in this world, but I can't wait around here every night wondering if you're going to come home or not. It's hard looking at the clock and realizing with every tick there's a chance the man you love has either been arrested, injured or worse, killed."_

_"I've been doing this for a few months now and nothing like that has happened." He countered. _

_"Yet." She exclaimed. "You've been extremely lucky but I'm afraid that one day your luck will run out. Look, I don't want to leave you. You're all I have now. What I want is for you to stop before the Joker consumes you."_

_"The Joker won't consume me." He laughed before turning serious again. "But if it will make you feel better, I'll stop." _

_"Really?" She asked hopefully._

_"Really." He assured her. "You mean more to me than being the Joker." _

_"Thank you." She hugged him. _

She should have realized he was lying to her then. He didn't stop. He continued trying to bring justice to others until her worse fears became realized. It was a slow turn to evil, sealed by the events of one fateful night.

"Are you talking from personal experience?" He probed, intrigued by her comment.

"It's like I said earlier," she smiled, "I'm just observant."

He realized that the police should be gone by now and he could leave. He didn't think he was going to get anywhere with Lacy. He had gotten all the information he could from her for now. "Is there a fire escape that I can use to get to the roof?"

"Yeah. There's one in the bedroom." She told him. "Are you leaving?"

He nodded as he followed her into the bedroom. He waited for her to open up the window and then moved out to the fire escape.

He was halfway out the window before she spoke up. "Hey, thanks again for earlier."

"No problem." He replied before he disappeared into the night.

She closed the window and pulled the blinds, wondering why her life had to be so complicated. She assumed that the Joker would be coming by later tonight, perhaps to finish the job his lackeys couldn't do.

Her nerves were shot from the recent events. Although she was prepared to die, she didn't want to yet. She sighed. "I'm gonna need more wine."

* * *

When Bruce got off of the bat cycle he saw Alfred watching the news on the television monitors. "Anything happening I should know about?" He asked as he walked over to stand by the older man.

"Not anything that the police can't handle." Alfred replied. "Anything happen on your rounds tonight? You seemed to be gone longer than normal."

"I went to check up on Lacy…"

"She's the consultant, right?" Alfred interrupted.

"Yeah." Bruce nodded. "So I found her walking home alone in the dark. The Joker's men were after her. They almost killed her."

"Why would they want to kill her?" Alfred asked.

"I'm not sure." Bruce shook his head. "That's what I'm trying to figure out."

"Let's look at the facts, Master Wayne." Alfred started counting the facts they knew on his hands. "Lacy works for Ace Consulting, a company we believe is cooperating with the Joker concerning these home invasion killings. The Joker sent men out to kill her. Why would they do that?"

"If she knows something she shouldn't." Bruce sighed. "I just wish I knew what it was. She might end up being the key to figuring out what the Joker's ultimate plan is."

Alfred added, "and perhaps stopping him."


	8. Chapter 8

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to all who are reading and reviewing, as well as the people who are simply reading! I hope you all enjoy this.

Chapter Eight

Lacy waited up for awhile, expecting the Joker to show up in her apartment but he never came. When two hours had passed, she decided to try and get some sleep after taking a warm shower. While letting the warm liquid wash over her she thought about her life and how it ended up so screwed up.

Her life was never perfect, but she had a mostly happy childhood. Sure her parents fought with each other constantly until they got divorced when she was seven, and the arguing only intensified after that. But they never abused her in any way and she knew up until the day they died that they loved her. They just didn't love each other.

That made her determined to have a happier life than that of her parents. She promised herself that she would marry a man that loved her as much as she loved him and they would have a marriage that was ten times stronger than her parents.

And for a while she had that. Jack was her best friend and always had been. They had been neighbors growing up and spent almost every waking hour with each other. She often wondered just how their wonderful life together turned out this way.

If someone had told her that her Jack would become a horrible, evil criminal who delighted in other people's misery and tears she would have laughed in their faces. She would have called them crazy and delusional. And she would have been wrong.

She believed she was right when she told Batman that there was a thin line between good and evil. A few good pushes and even the best men can turn evil. It happened with Jack and, more recently, with Harvey Dent. She remembered the look of pure ecstasy on the Joker's face when he told her about how he had manipulated and turned Harvey Dent into a murdering criminal.

It was enough to make her sick.

She hated hearing about what he did to poor Rachel Dawes and Harvey Dent. It broke her heart and made her question why she still protected him. She still didn't have a good answer for that question. She wanted to say that it was out of fear for her life, but over the years she had grown unafraid to die.

Maybe that's why she didn't fight back against the Joker's goons as much as a normal person would have in her position. She didn't necessarily want to die, but if it was going to happen, then it was going to happen.

* * *

The Joker entered Lacy's apartment through the bedroom window and, hearing the shower running, decided to stay in the bedroom until she came out. He took this opportunity to truly think about the events of the night.

He was upset that his guys almost killed Lacy. He really didn't want his goons killing her on the street like that. At the very least she deserved a death that was more poetic. But there was something else that was really bothering him even more.

It was Batman.

He sighed as he looked out her window. He didn't like to think about Lacy being around Batman. He wasn't necessarily jealous. He knew that Lacy wouldn't dare go after a guy romantically because if she did, the guy would be dead by the end of the day. No, he wasn't jealous.

After thinking about it, he realized that he just didn't like the idea of Batman hanging around his girl. As loyal as Lacy had been to him, he couldn't shake the feeling that one day she would betray him in some way.

He had been thinking lately that perhaps it was time to push Lacy out of his life. He did a wonderful job of getting rid of the other remnants of his former self. He got rid of his belongings, his name, his inhibitions, everything—everything except Lacy. She was the last reminder of his former self.

Every time he looked at her he saw his former self's reflection in her eyes and he hated that. Perhaps it was almost time to do something about that.

Lacy came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but her towel and saw the Joker standing by the same window that Batman had used earlier to escape.

Upon hearing her enter the room, he turned around. "Hello my dear."

"Took you long enough to show up." She mumbled as she went over to the mirror and quickly ran a comb through her wet hair.

"Well I had to wait and make sure Batman wasn't here." He explained. "I didn't want to intrude on your alone time with the caped crusader."

She wasn't surprised that he knew Batman had been there. "Whatever." She rolled her eyes. He seemed to know everything that she did. Not much surprised her these days.

"I must say, I don't like that you let Batman into your apartment, especially since you two were all alone in here. I can only imagine the kind of trouble you two could get into together." He told her as he slowly walked over to her.

"Well I don't like that you sent your goons to kill me on the street.." She countered, putting down the comb.

He smiled as he closed the gap between them and started lightly yanking on her towel. "So then we're even?"

She pushed his hand away from her towel before he made it fall to the ground. "Not even close." She defiantly walked away from him and went over to stand by the window.

His smile faded. "So what did you and dear Batsy talk about while he was here?"

"What do you think we talked about?" She asked with a sarcastic laugh and a roll of her eyes. "You. That's all anyone in this damn town ever wants to talk about."

"Jealous are we?" He joked with her. He crossed the room and stood behind her as she looked out the window. He had taken off the glove on his right hand and lightly grazed her bare shoulder with his fingertips. He then let his hand travel down the length of the towel before he let his fingers explore what was underneath. He felt her twitch and grinned because he knew that he was getting to her.

"Hardly." She informed him.

"You didn't tell him anything that would make me want to kill you, now did you?" He asked, parting her folds and inserting two fingers inside of her. He proceeded to move them in and out of her. He did it slowly at first, gradually increasing his speed.

Her breathing started to become ragged and she silently willed herself not to make any noises. The last thing she wanted was to let him know how much her body was responding to his touch. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts together so that she could make a coherent statement.

"Yeah." She joked. "I told Batman everything, including your shoe size and favorite food. You know, it turns out you both love pizza. Maybe you two can be friends after all."

He had to laugh at her and swiftly removed his hand. "That's my girl, always making jokes." He turned her around to face him and pushed her up against the glass. "You liked that, didn't you?"

She didn't want to admit it, but she knew that denying it was useless. He knew her body better than she did and knew exactly what to do to make her respond to him. All she could do was nod slowly and look at the floor.

He put his finger under her chin and pushed her face up so she would make eye contact with him. "Of course you like that. You can't help yourself, can you?"

She shook her head, ashamed of herself.

"And now that I've got you started, you want more." He grinned, putting his fingers back where they were before. This time though, he inserted three. "Isn't that right?"

Still not wanting to give him the satisfaction of hearing her moan, she bit her lip and nodded her head.

"Well if you want more, all you have to do is ask." He smiled at her.

She knew this was a game to him and she didn't want to give in to him, but at the same time she was actually getting aroused.

"So what's it gonna be?" He asked, whispering in her ear. "Do I stop or do you want more?"

"More." She whispered, hating the fact that he could get to her like this.

He grinned. "Then more it is." With one swift move he pulled off her towel. "Lay down on the floor." While she was doing that he was unzipping his pants and letting them fall to the floor. Then he lowered himself on to her, inserting himself with one hard thrust.

"You know," he said as he lazily began thrusting, "no other man will ever touch you like this, and you want to know why?" Without giving her a chance to respond, he answered. "It's because of two reasons. First of all, you're a nothing. You don't matter to anyone other than me, and the only reason I pay attention to you is because I take delight in your nothingness."

She knew what he was doing and didn't want to give in to his games. He was trying to make her feel so bad about herself that she would believe that she really was nothing. Even though she knew his game she couldn't help but fall right into the trap.

"The second reason is because you belong to me. You are my property and I do not like trespassers on my property." He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "If I even suspect that you are attracted to another man, I will kill him and then you. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes." She whispered, wondering why he was making a point to tell her that. She had to wonder. He seemed like he was upset that Batman was here with her alone, although he should have known that nothing would happen between her and Batman. She still obeyed her wedding vows and had never even kissed any other men. He knew that. So why was he so rattled? Was he really that threatened by Batman?

The Joker was content and thought that he had gotten his point across so he pulled out of her and stood up. He then pulled his pants up and zipped them. "Just remember that you are my girl."

She quickly stood up, grabbing her towel and wrapping it around her. She welcomed the security the blanket provided her, glad that she was no longer completely naked in front of him. "I wish I wasn't your girl."

"Now that hurts me when you say things like that." He mocked her. "You really should be nicer to me."

"Or what? You'll kill me?" She asked. "You tried that earlier tonight and it didn't quite work out for ya."

"Yes, I am aware of that." He told her as he rolled his eyes.

"So why did you send goons to kill me tonight?" She felt like she needed to know why, although she wasn't sure he would tell her the real reason.

"It was a misunderstanding." He explained. He could tell that she was angry about it and it made him laugh.

"This isn't funny." She corrected him. "You almost had me killed tonight. If it wasn't for Batman…"

"Oh yes, let's all give a big round of applause for Batman!" The Joker rolled his eyes and started to mock her. "He's so great and so wonderful. He's just so dreamy! If he wasn't there tonight I would probably be dead."

"Jealous are we?" She laughed, using his own words from earlier against him.

"Jealous?" The Joker laughed. "Of Batman? Never. I simply don't see what the big deal about him is. Geez, he dresses up like a bat. It's crazy."

"That's the pot calling the kettle black." She commented. "You are the last person on Earth that should be calling people crazy."

"Perhaps." He conceded. "But you have to admit that he is kind of screwy."

She ignored his comment and changed the subject. "So why are you here? You wanna finish the job that your idiots couldn't finish now that Batman isn't here?"

He feigned a look of being hurt by her comment. "My dear, I'm not here to kill you. Tonight honestly was a misunderstanding."

"Oh really?" She questioned. "Well that misunderstanding almost cost me my life."

"I didn't think you'd get so mad about it." He laughed. "What do you want? An apology?"

She laughed. "Yeah right. Like you'd ever apologize for anything."

He stopped laughed and removed the smile on his face. Then he took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "My dearest Lacy, I am sincerely sorry for sending my guys to kill you. I would never hurt you in that way and hope…" He finally couldn't take it anymore and burst out into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. "I tried to say that with a straight face, but I just can't!"

She was still angry from the attempt on her life, and even angrier about how he had used her. "Why don't you just leave? You got what you wanted from me."

"Fine." He pretended to pout. "If you're going to be mean about it, then maybe I will leave." He walked over to her and whispered in her ear, "Just remember, you're mine."

"Like I could forget it." She sighed as he left.


	9. Chapter 9

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

Chapter Nine

Bruce was lucky enough to catch Lacy in the hallway the next morning. It looked like she was just arriving at the office. "Lacy!" He exclaimed, catching up with her outside her office door. "Good morning."

"I guess." She mumbled. She had only gotten about an hour of sleep the night before. When the Joker left, she took another shower and then laid in bed. Sleep did not come to her easily though. Between the attempt on her life and the encounters with both Batman and the Joker, she couldn't shut off her mind long enough to get much sleep.

"Are you ok?" He asked, noticing that she looked like a wreck.

"Yeah," she lied. "I'm fine. I just had some trouble sleeping last night."

"Any particular reason?" He asked, following her into her office. He wasn't expecting her to tell him about the attempt on her life but had to at least try.

She shook her head, not wanting to let anyone know about what happened last night. "Just couldn't get my mind to stop running."

He nodded in understanding. "I've had that happen to me too."

"So what's up?" She asked, trying to get back into work mode and stop thinking about the Joker and Batman.

"Not much." He told her. "I just saw you and wanted to say good morning."

"Well good morning." She smiled.

"How are things going?" He asked.

"Things are going well. My team and I are still in the process of going around to each department and analyzing everything. We should be done with that by the end of the week and then we'll start the real work." She explained.

"Wonderful." Bruce nodded.

Chris entered the office to get some paperwork. The last thing he expected was to see Lacy standing there talking to Bruce Wayne. Mr. Drake had told him that Lacy was going to be dealt with last night. The Joker made it seem like she was going to be dead by morning. "Lacy."

"Is something wrong Chris?" Lacy asked, noticing that he looked like he had seen a ghost. She quickly realized that he must have known about the attempt on her life and must have assumed that she would be dead by now. That meant that he really was the one working with the Joker.

"No…nothing's wrong Lacy." Chris replied, struggling to not stutter. He looked at Lacy and then Bruce. "I just came by to get some papers."

"Sure." Lacy studied him. He looked nervous and when their eyes locked, she knew that he was definitely the one working with the Joker. She could see the guilt and shame in his eyes. Having seen it in her own eyes for so long, she knew exactly what it looked like. "What papers do you need?"

"The papers for the research and development department." Chris answered.

She dug around on her desk for a moment before pulling a few file folders and handed them to him. "Here you go. I will need these back tomorrow."

"Ok." He agreed, taking the folders and holding them close to his chest. "I'll have them back by then."

"Thanks." Lacy said. "Anything else?"

"Nope. That's all." He gave a nervous smile. "I'll see you later." And with that, he was out the door.

"What was his problem?" Bruce asked. He had watched the interaction between them with great interest. Chris looked like he had seen a ghost when he noticed Lacy was in here. He wondered briefly if Chris could be involved with the Joker. If he had prior knowledge that the Joker's men were going after Lacy last night, then that would account for his strange behavior today.

He always thought there was something off about Chris. He was always trying to be too helpful and insinuate himself into conversations that he didn't belong in. Maybe he could be someone to exploit in order to get to the Joker.

"He had too much coffee," Lacy replied with a nervous laugh, "or not enough. I wouldn't worry about it."

He simply nodded in agreement. "Speaking of coffee, you look like you could use some. Why don't you let me take you out and get a big cup of coffee?"

"Oh, that's ok." She declined. "I was just going to get some coffee from the break room."

"That stuff won't help you." He assured her. "I know where you can coffee that will help you get through the rest of the day just by drinking one cup."

She sighed, conflicted. She really did need coffee, but wasn't sure if going out for coffee with Bruce would be such a good idea. It would most likely make the Joker upset and she wasn't sure she wanted to deal with that. On the other hand, Bruce was her boss and she could rationalize that it was just a work thing. And she needed coffee badly.

"Ok." She relented. "Take me to the magical coffee."

* * *

Chip and Dale sat in the back of the coffee shop watching Lacy and Bruce talk at a table in the front. "So what do you think this girl means to Mr. J?" Chip asked, trying not to be obvious about watching them.

"What do you mean?" Dale asked.

"I mean, why does Mr. J care so much about what this chick does and who she talks to?" Chip elaborated. "He's not frivolous. His whole 'I'm an agent of chaos and I have no plans' mantra is a joke. Everything he does is for a reason. What do you think his reason is for this?"

"I don't know." Dale sighed. "I've never thought about it. I always thought it was none of my business. Besides, I don't think he would like it if he caught us guessing about his personal life. We'd probably end up dead."

"Probably." Chip nodded. "But still, aren't you the least bit curious?"

"I don't know." Dale shrugged. "I guess I am curious about why he will drop by and tell us to leave for a few hours."

"Like last night!" Chip exclaimed. "He's done that quite a few times during the last few months. Do you think…?" He trailed off, not sure he wanted to finish his thought out-loud.

"What?" Dale asked after a long silence, growing impatient. "Man, you can't leave me hanging like that. Finish the sentence."

"I was just thinking, what if she," he pointed to Lacy, "is Mr. J's friend with benefits."

Dale burst out laughing. "You really think that he could get a piece of that action?" He laughed again. "Did you hit your head on something hard this morning?"

"What's so funny about that?" Chip questioned. "Think about it. If he is having us leave and not watch her for a few hours, that must mean that he feels she doesn't need watching. And why would that be?" He didn't give his friend time to answer before continuing. "Because he is watching her himself."

"Ok, so maybe he goes and visits her, but that doesn't mean that they hook up." Dale argued.

"Well I can guarantee you that they aren't doing crossword puzzles together and snuggling." Chip argued back. "Why is it so hard to believe that maybe she is his, for lack of a better word, fuck buddy?"

"Because she is attractive," Dale replied, "and in my opinion, she is too attractive for him. Besides, he's freakin' crazy. Any woman who got involved with him would have to be just as crazy. I don't think she's crazy enough."

Chip sighed. "Sometimes women are attracted to dangerous men, even when they aren't that attractive. Haven't you ever heard of those women who write love letters to serial killers who are in prison? They actually fall in love with the serial killers and some have even gotten married while the guy is in jail."

"I don't know." Dale shook his head. "I'm not convinced. Besides, why are we even talking about this?"

"Because what else are we supposed to talk about?" Chip asked in a serious tone. "We're together day in and day out watching this chick. I feel like I know everything about you."

"Yeah, we have kind of run out of things to talk about." Dale conceded. "Ok, how about this? I'll make a bet with you. I'll bet you 20,000 that she isn't Mr. J's fuck buddy. If you can get proof that they are, then I'll pay you the money."

"Really?" Chip's face lit up. "Sounds good to me. I'll be happy to take your money."

Dale wasn't worried about losing the bet to Chip. He knew that there was no way Chip would ever be able to get proof. "How are you going to get proof about it though? You know if you ask him he's just going to kill you."

"I'll just be patient and wait for the right opportunity. Secrets like that don't stay secret forever." Chip smiled.

* * *

"How's your coffee?" Bruce asked after Lacy had drunk about half of it. They had come to a coffee shop fairly close to the office that he frequented. They had been sitting at a table by the window, drinking coffee and talking for about fifteen minutes.

"I think this might be the best coffee I've ever tasted." She replied, surprised. "I can't believe I've never heard of this place."

"Well it's relatively new. It's only been here a few months." Bruce explained.

"Thanks for bringing me here." Lacy smiled. "I'm feeling more and more like myself now."

"That's good." He smiled back. "That's what I was going for."

She wasn't sure if she should ask this, but she was starting to wonder. "Do you do this kind of thing often?"

"What kind of thing?" Bruce asked, confused about what her question meant. "I come here for coffee almost every day."

"No." She shook her head. "I mean, you do often go out of your way to make consultants feel better?" She felt like she wasn't explaining herself appropriately. "Don't get me wrong, you're a nice enough guy but I just want to be friends and I feel like…"

"Oh." He interrupted her, suddenly realizing where this conversation was headed. "You think I'm trying to hit on you?"

She felt embarrassed, but shook her head. "I could be wrong, but it's just that you asked me to a fundraiser, you've been coming by my office and bumping into me in the hallways a lot, and now with bringing me here I have to at least wonder."

"Well I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression." He knew that he had to set the record straight. "I'm definitely not interested in you like that. I don't have any romantic feelings for you. I just simply want to be your friend. You remind me a lot of a friend I used to have."

She figured that he meant Rachel Dawes and immediately felt guilty on top of the growing embarrassment she felt over basically accusing him of trying to seduce her. "Well I feel like an idiot. I'm sorry I…"

"You shouldn't feel like an idiot." He assured her. "And I should be the one to apologize. I should have made it clearer that I just want friendship from you."

"How about a compromise?" She laughed. "We can both be at fault."

He laughed. "Sounds good to me."

"Great." She replied, feeling better about it. It was nice to know that Bruce didn't like her in THAT way. It made things a little less complicated.

* * *

"Mr. Drake, we have to talk." Chris said, barging into his bosses' office.

He was on the phone with a client when Chris came into his office. He put his hand up to Chris to tell him to be quiet for a moment and went back to talking to the client. "Yes, I understand completely. We'll make sure those changes are done immediately…Ok. You have a good day too."

He put down the phone and sighed. "What is it Christopher?"

"It's Lacy." Chris explained. "She's alive."

Drake looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean she's alive? Is she in the hospital?" He was under the impression that the Joker was going to kill Lacy last night.

"Nope. She doesn't look like she has a single scratch on her." Chris elaborated. "She was in her temporary office at Wayne Enterprises with Bruce Wayne. She acted like nothing was wrong but I think she knows that I know that she knows."

"Slow down." Drake instructed. "There's too many 'knows' in that sentence. Now I'm confused."

"Sorry." Chris sighed. "She gave me this look like she knows more than she's letting on."

"You need to stop worrying." Drake told him. "The Joker said he would take care of her and he will. We just have to be patient. We don't really know for sure if Lacy even knows anything damaging. It's all circumstantial right now. You need to calm down."

"That's easier said than done." Chris complained.

"I realize that, but we have to be calm. Going around and acting nervous will only raise any suspicions she might have. So go back to work and I'll call the Joker to find out what's going on. I'll call you with more details later. Ok?"

"Ok." Chris nodded as he headed to the door.

"And remember to calm down!" Drake called after him. The last thing he wanted to do was call the Joker and have to ask what was going on, but it looked like he had no choice. Chris was close to losing it and he had to admit that he was curious about why Lacy wasn't dead.

Maybe he had misunderstood the Joker during their conversation yesterday, but he was almost certain that the Joker was supposed to have Lacy killed last night. Thinking about it, he wasn't even sure the Joker would tell him anything but he had to try.


	10. Chapter 10

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: A huge thank you to my loyal readers! I have some very exciting events happening in the next few chapters. Enjoy!

Chapter Ten

"I don't mean to be disrespectful or impatient, but when are you going to take care of the problem we talked about yesterday?" Drake asked the Joker once he got him on the phone.

The Joker sighed, annoyed by this conversation. "I told you I would take care of it and I have."

"But she's still alive." Drake pointed out. "I thought that you were going to, you know, kill her."

"I decided on a different course of action." The Joker explained, exhaling loudly into the phone. "Look, I don't have to explain myself to you or anyone else for that matter. The situation is handled. End of story."

"But…"

"I said it's the end of the story." The Joker repeated. "That means you stop talking about it. Understand?"

"Yes." Drake replied, not happy with this situation.

"Good." The Joker smiled. "Now go back to running your little company and let me get back to doing my job." Without waiting for Drake to reply, he hung up the phone.

He wasn't thrilled to have the older man call and complain about his methods. It's like he told Drake. He didn't have to answer to anyone. He was the Joker. He made his own rules and governed his own actions.

If he wanted to let Lacy live for a while longer, then that was his business. Besides, what could she possibly do to interfere with his plans? He knew that he had broken her spirit and mind so badly that even though she wanted to do something to stop him, she wouldn't. Right?

* * *

Lacy walked the halls of her company's building later that night. She had come back to her regular office to grab a few files, but also to try and find Chris. She figured it was time they had a little chat. Now if she could only find him. The security guard on the first floor said that Chris was still checked in so she knew he had to be somewhere in the building.

She had checked most of the places he frequented but still hadn't gone into the break room. She ducked her head into the break room and saw Chris sitting on the couch in the corner. He was looking over a file and drinking something out of a huge mug.

Without a word, she entered the room and closed the door for privacy. She then went over and sat next to him. He looked over at her and their eyes met. "Hello."

"Hi." He nervously greeted back to her. He wasn't expecting to see her here at this time of the night and wondered why she was here.

"I think we need to have a little chat." She spoke after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Really? About what?" he asked, hoping it was something to do with work. "The Wayne Enterprises project?"

"No," she replied, "it's not that. I think it's time we had a little chat about the Joker."

"Why would you want to talk about him?" Chris asked, taking a long drink from his mug and swallowing hard. "I thought you hated talking about him. You've never wanted to talk about him before."

"Normally I do hate talking about him." She answered. "But I think it's necessary to talk about him right now."

"I have to ask why again." He stalled. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about the Joker with Lacy since he was almost certain she knew about his involvement with the Joker. "Why now? What's changed?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because his men tried to kill me last night and I think you know why." She pointed out in a very matter of fact manner.

"You were attacked by the Joker's men?" He tried his hardest to fake surprise and act compassionate. "Are you ok? Did they hurt you?"

"I'm fine." She assured him, knowing that he wasn't really truly concerned with her well-being. He was simply trying to throw her off by pretending he didn't know anything about it, but it wasn't going to work.

Her instincts were telling her that he was the one working with the Joker and she wasn't going to give up until he admitted it to her. "But that's not important. How long have you been working for the Joker?"

"What?" he tried to act insulted. He even stood up and shook his head. "Why in the world would you think that I'm working for the Joker? That's crazy. You're crazy."

"I'm not crazy." Lacy countered. "I'm just observant."

"I'm not working for the Joker." Chris denied.

"It's ok." Lacy told him, standing up and facing him. "I know that you are. I just need some more information."

"Well I'm sorry but I don't have any information because I don't work for the Joker." Chris stared at the floor and continued to deny it. He thought that maybe if he continued to deny it, she would back off. He didn't think it would work because he knew Lacy was stubborn. It was worth a shot though.

She sighed. "Please stop lying to me."

"I'm not lying." He wasn't sure he could convince her of that and considered what would happen if he told her. It didn't look good for him. He'd either be arrested by the police or killed by the Joker. Neither option looked good to him.

"I have proof that you are." Lacy bluffed. "If you don't admit it right now and start talking I'm going to call the police."

His head shot up to meet her eyes and he tried not to panic. "What do you mean you have proof?"

"I have solid evidence that ties you to the Joker." Lacy continued with her bluff. She wasn't sure if lying to him about having substantial proof would work. Sure she had hunches and circumstantial evidence, but it wouldn't be enough for the police to take her seriously.

"No you don't." He shook his head and laughed. "You are lying, and you know how I know you are lying? Because I am not working for the Joker. So you couldn't possibly have evidence linking me to him."

"Ok." She pulled out her cell phone and held it in her left hand. "If that's how you want to play this game, then let's play. I guess I'll just call the police and you can talk to them instead of me. If you truly have nothing to hide then you won't mind if I bring the police into this." She started dialing a phone number very slowly.

She paused before she dialed the last number. "Although I think you'd be better off talking to me instead of them. I can't arrest you or throw you in jail with a bunch of drug addicts and hardened criminals. But it's your choice and you chose the police…"

"Wait!" He called out before she had a chance to dial the last number.

"Yes?" She asked.

He took a deep breath. "I don't want you to call the police." He couldn't handle being put in jail. There was no way that he would last long in there. The Joker would most definitely have him killed.

"Why not?" She asked, hoping that he would admit to working for the Joker.

"Because I," he paused, hoping he was doing the right thing, "I am working for the Joker. There. Are you happy now?"

"Not really." She sat back down on the couch and turned off her phone. "Why are you working for him? How did he snag you into his web?"

"Money." Chris snorted. "I wanted money."

"But why? You make a good living here." She didn't understand why he wanted more. He was one of the highest paid associates who were non-board members.

"About four years ago my wife left me." Chris explained. "She took everything I had. She took the cars, the houses, and my dog. Hell, she even took my best friend. They live together in my house, sleep together in our old bed and enjoy the life I used to have."

"I'm sorry to hear that." She said, meaning every word. "It's hard when your marriage ends and you realize that the person you loved doesn't want your love anymore."

"Yeah," he agreed, "that's for sure. She divorced me and took me to the cleaners. She gets an obscene amount of alimony every month. It's not a fair amount at all. And the kicker is that my ex-wife and ex-best friend won't remarry for the sole reason that they want her to continue getting the alimony."

He sat down on the couch next to Lacy. "I guess I just got so frustrated with all of it that when I saw how much he was offering, I jumped at the chance. I saw the chance to get my old life back and I blindly grabbed it. I didn't fully understand what I'd be doing or the consequences."

She listened to his story and realized that she wasn't the only one that the Joker has manipulated recently.

"It wasn't until I actually started to work for him that I realized what I had done. I sold my soul to the devil." Chris continued. "And while the extra money is nice, I can't really enjoy it. It's blood money."

"The Joker is very good at manipulation." Lacy told him, lightly resting her hand on his shoulder for a moment. "What exactly is it that you do for him?"

He looked over at her for a few seconds and then at the floor. "I befriend people and tell the Joker when they will be home. Then he goes and kills them."

She wasn't happy that her suspicions were confirmed and she was right about Chris' involvement. She really had hoped that she was wrong because Chris seemed like such a nice guy. But she had to face the facts and the facts were that Chris was involved in the Joker's schemes.

"So you've made friends with all of the rich clients we have who have ended up dead and then essentially stab them in the back by selling them out to the Joker?" She clarified.

"Yes." He shamefully admitted.

"What about Bruce Wayne?" She asked hesitantly. She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer. "Is he next on your list?"

Chris nodded slowly. "Yeah. The Joker wants me to find out everything I can about him but it's been hard. He's been resistant to my attempts to be his friend. He seems only interested in being your friend."

She was relieved that it looked like there were no immediate plans to kill Bruce. Maybe there was still time to find a way out for Bruce without pissing off the Joker too much.

"I'm sorry Lacy. I didn't mean to almost get you killed." He confessed, thinking she already knew. "When I told Mr. Drake about how I thought you knew something I didn't expect the Joker to try and kill you. I guess I should have expected it, but I didn't."

"Mr. Drake?" Lacy asked, confused. "He's involved in this too?" She hadn't expected that her boss would be involved in this mess too. She briefly wondered how high the corruption in this company went and who else was involved.

"Yeah." Chris nodded, realizing that Lacy had bluffed. "Hey! You didn't have any real proof, did you?" He was starting to get angry with her.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't." She admitted.

"You tricked me into admitting this to you!" He yelled, jumping to his feet. "I can't believe it!"

"I'm sorry." She got up too. "I just wanted to get some answers."

"Well now that you've gotten your answers you better not even think about telling anyone what you know or else." He threatened.

"Or else what?" She asked hesitantly.

"You won't like what happens." He replied. "I'm already in this too deep and I can't go to jail."

"Chris, I'm on your side here. I'm not going to the police with this information. I promise." She tried to assure him.

"Then why are you poking your nose in other people's business?" He asked.

"I don't want to get into it but trust me that I have my reasons. Please believe me." She gave him a small smile. "I'm not going to turn you in."

He sighed. She had never lied to him before and she seemed sincere. Maybe he could trust her. Right now it didn't look like he had a choice. His only other option would be to kill Lacy himself and he couldn't do that. "Fine, but I still don't think tricking me was very nice."

"I'm sorry." She apologized. "It was just the only way I could think of to get the truth out of you."

"I still don't think it was very nice." Chris pouted.

"Why don't you tell me about Mr. Drake's involvement?" She prodded gently, hoping to get as much information out of him as possible.


	11. Chapter 11

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who is reading this. Comments are appreciated!!

Chapter Eleven

"So let me get this straight." Lacy spoke after listening to Chris talk for the next hour. "The Joker really is targeting wealthy men in this city and using our company to do so?"

"Yep." Chris replied.

"And the board members and Mr. Drake are letting him because he has blackmail material on all of them?"

"Correct." Chris replied.

"Do you know why he's only targeting wealthy men?"

"I'm not supposed to know." Chris admitted. "But I've heard rumors that he's trying to find out the real identity of Batman."

"Really?" Lacy shouldn't have been surprised by that revelation but she was. She thought that the Joker didn't want to know Batman's true identity. Wasn't that what he said when Coleman Reese wanted to expose Batman all those months ago? Though maybe saying he didn't want to know and trying to get citizens to kill Reese was just a ploy he used to distract the Gotham police while he carried out his other plans.

"Yeah." Chris replied. "I guess he wants to know who Batman is so that he can try to kill him or something. I don't know the specifics and I'm not even sure if the rumor is correct. But it makes sense to me."

"It makes sense to me too." Lacy agreed. "Thank you Chris. I appreciate you telling me everything you know."

"I'm sorry about threatening you earlier." He apologized. "I didn't mean it. I wouldn't have hurt you. I'm just really stressed and I don't know how to get myself out of this mess."

"That's ok." She assured him. "I understand." She knew that the Joker could push people into doing things that they never thought possible. What she didn't know was how to tell him that there wasn't a way out of this mess. He most likely was not going to live happily ever after. No one associated with the Joker ever does. She decided to let him think that there was hope of getting out alive.

"No it's not." He shook his head. "Yes you tricked me, but I'm glad you did. It feels good having someone to talk about this with. I feel better now that I've told someone."

"I'm glad I could help." She smiled.

"Now are you going to tell me why you care so much?" Chris asked, looking at her expectantly.

"What you mean?" She asked, caught off-guard by his question.

"I've told you everything I know about this. I've been an open book. Don't you think that you should do the same and tell me why you are so determined to know what the Joker's doing? Why are you so involved in this?"

He couldn't help but be curious about her reasons for digging into this. It couldn't be because she was just a concerned citizen. No one in their right mind would go this far to uncover the Joker's plan unless they had a personal stake in it.

She knew that the only fair thing to do in this situation was to let him know why she cared so much. But the last thing she wanted to do was tell Chris everything about her involvement with the Joker. She had never told anyone the whole story and never planned on telling anyone. "I already told you, it's personal."

"That's not going to be good enough." He told her. "I've spilled my guts even though if the Joker finds out I've told you I'll most likely be dead in minutes. I deserve to know why you have such a vested interest."

She didn't know what to do or what to say to get Chris off her back about this. There was no way she could tell him anything about her relationship with the Joker because that would only spell disaster. Suddenly an idea came to her and before she could think about the possible ramifications she found herself starting to speak.

"I guess the reason is because I really don't want to see anything happen to Bruce."

"Bruce Wayne? Why not?" Chris asked as it became clear to him what she was saying. "Are you and him…together?"

"Yes, actually we are." She lied, hoping that he would believe that she really did care about Bruce in that way. It should be easy enough to fool him. After all, she and Bruce did talk a lot in the hallways and people have seen them go out for coffee. Besides that, he was taking her to the Wayne Foundation fundraiser on Saturday. Maybe it wouldn't be that hard to fool Chris.

She continued with her story. "And when I noticed that wealthy clients of this company usually end up dead after taking advantage of our services, I decided to be proactive. I don't want to see anything bad happen to him."

"So what's your plan?" He had to ask. "Now that you have all this information, what are you going to do with it?"

She laughed. "I have no clue yet."

"Cause you can't warn Wayne." Chris was adamant about that fact. "If you do, you're signing my death warrant."

'And mine too.' She thought.

"And you can't go to the police either for the same reason." He added.

"I know." She nodded her head. "That doesn't leave many options."

"It leaves us with no options." Chris corrected her. "There's no way we can stand up to the Joker and live through it. I'm sorry to say it, but I don't think your boyfriend is going to make it."

She didn't want to admit that Chris was right. There wasn't much hope that Bruce would be alright after a visit from the Joker. She looked at the clock and saw it was getting late. "Look, I'm tired and I'm sure you are too. I'm going to call it a night and go home."

"Ok." He nodded. "I guess I should go too. Be careful."

"You too." She told him as she left.

* * *

When Lacy entered her darkened apartment the first thing she did was lock the door behind her. As she was turning to flip the light switch on, she was surprised to have the lights turn on without her assistance. She took a deep breath and looked over to see the Joker sitting on her couch.

"Good evening." He greeted with a huge smile.

"It was until now." She sighed, putting her purse down on the table by the door. "What do you want?"

"What makes you think I want something?" He asked, feigning a look of insult. "I simply came by to say hi."

"Well you have, so you can leave now." She told him, walking past him and moving into the kitchen.

He moved quickly to follow her into the kitchen, watching as she took out a bottle of wine and one big glass. "No wine for me right now, but thanks for asking."

"Of course you don't want wine." She told him as she poured the wine into the glass. "You're not staying."

"Why all this hostility tonight?" He asked, moving closer and closer to her. Within seconds he was standing behind her, pinning her to the counter she had been leaning up against. "You aren't still mad about the little attempt on your life last night, are you?" He whispered in her ear. "Cause you know that was just a…."

"A misunderstanding." She completed his sentence for him. "Yeah, so you say."

"You don't believe me?" He feigned a pout. "I'm crushed."

"I'm sure you'll get over it." She tried to get away from him but found herself stuck. She did manage to turn around to face him though. "Let me go."

"Ah ah ah." He waved his finger in her face. "You didn't say the magic word."

She was in no mood for his games and just wanted to be left alone. "Please?" She asked nicely.

"See?" He moved off to the side so she could pass. "That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

"What do you want?" She asked again, getting frustrated by his presence.

"Nothing really." He shrugged. "But since I am here, maybe now is a good time to have a little chat about boundaries."

"Boundaries?" She laughed. "I don't think you know what the meaning of that word is since you clearly have no problem breaking into my apartment without my permission on a regular basis."

"Technically it's not breaking in since we're married." He pointed out.

She groaned. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not married to you anymore. I was married to who you used to be. And since you have made sure that everyone thinks Jack killed himself, it's over. I'm not married to you."

"I don't really want to argue over this. It's just a technicality anyway." He told her with a chuckle. "The point is that you don't seem to realize that my activities are none of your business. You need to stop meddling in my affairs."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She laughed as she grabbed her glass of wine and attempted to walk past him to go into the living room.

He grabbed her arm as she passed. "I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. Didn't you have a really long chat with Christopher tonight?"

"Perhaps." She answered, wondering if he knew what she had been talking about with Chris.

"And what did your dear friend Christopher tell you tonight?" He asked nicely.

"Not much." She lied. "Just work stuff."

"So he didn't spill secrets that he shouldn't have?" He asked with a smile on his face.

"Nope." She shrugged.

"You're a naughty, naughty girl." He shook his head at her. "You're lying. I know you are, and you know how I know?" He didn't give her a chance to respond. "You're eyes give it away. That's how I know that you were lying when you said that you and Brucie were a couple."

"You have cameras in the break room." She should have guessed that much but didn't expect him to have cameras at her job. She moved her arm out of his grasp but stayed where she standing.

"Ding ding ding!" He laughed. "We have a winner. Announcer, please tell her what she's won." In a deeper voice, he said "Well she's won an evening with the Joker!"

"Can't I just have the year's supply of Rice-A-Roni?" She asked, rolling her eyes at his antics.

He laughed at her joke. "It was a nice cover trying to convince Chris that you are digging into my business because you're concerned for your 'boyfriend'."

"Well I am concerned about him." She admitted. "He's a good guy."

"He also could be Batman." The Joker told her. "And I want to know for sure."

"I just don't see Bruce being Batman." She laughed.

"And why not?" The Joker asked. "Batman has to be rich or sponsored by someone rich in order to afford those fancy toys he has. Bruce Wayne is the richest man in Gotham City. So if Wayne isn't Batman, maybe he knows who is. And if he doesn't, then oh well. I will continue until I find out Batman's secret identity."

He reached over and took her glass of wine from her hand. After chugging the rest of the glass, he nodded his head. "This stuff is good. No wonder you drink so much of it."

She was starting to become really annoyed with him and reached to take the glass from his hand but instead found herself being slammed up against the counter.

He grabbed her by the neck and held her against the counter. With the other hand, he gently placed the wine glass down. "So now that you know my plans, what do you intend to do with the information?"

"Nothing." She whispered.

He tightened his grip on her throat, adding his other hand to apply more pressure. "Are you sure about that?"

She slowly nodded her head. It was the only way she could communicate since he was making it hard for her to breathe.

"So I don't have to worry about you meddling in my affairs anymore?" He asked, enjoying the interrogation. "You won't be running off to the police or Batman in hopes of saving poor Bruce Wayne from my dastardly deeds?"

She shook her head slightly, almost not sure what she was saying no to. She wasn't getting enough oxygen and was beginning to feel like she would pass out.

"Good." He smiled. He could tell that she was getting ready to pass out and realized it was time to release his chokehold. So he moved his arms down to his sides. "You ok there?" He asked with fake sincerity.

As soon as the Joker's hands were removed from her throat she brought her own hand up there and started inhaling as much oxygen as she possibly could.

"Don't worry." He patted her on the back. "I didn't leave a bruise." He had gotten quite good at knowing how long he could choke someone without a bruise forming.

"Gee, thanks." She sarcastically replied.

"You're welcome!" He exclaimed happily. He put his hands on her shoulders and started guiding her towards the bedroom. "And now that we've gotten the foreplay out of the way, let's go have some real fun."

She looked at him strangely, hoping he was kidding. He really expected her to have sex with him right now after he just tried to choke her to death? She searched his face for signs that this was just a joke but saw that he was completely serious.

He saw the look she was giving him and smiled even more. "We're going to have a lot of fun tonight."

"Great." She sighed, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.


	12. Chapter 12

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing. Comments are appreciated!

Chapter Twelve

Lacy looked at herself in the mirror, debating for what seemed like the millionth time whether or not she should go the fundraiser with Bruce. On one hand, it would be a great way to make new business contacts. On the other hand, the Joker didn't seem too happy about her going with Bruce Wayne when he found out about it last week.

She sighed, realizing a lot had happened since last week. She was almost killed, found out Chris and the senior partners of her company were working for the Joker, met and got saved by Batman, started to become good friends with Bruce, and had seen been visited by the Joker several times. It was a busy week. No wonder she was tired.

Taking a deep breath, she determined she wasn't going to let the Joker completely rule her life. She wanted to go to this fundraiser because it would be a great opportunity to make contacts which could lead to more clients. If he didn't like that then it was his problem.

She was going to the fundraiser and wasn't going to give him a second thought for the rest of the night. "Who are you kidding? You're going to think about him all night. There's no escaping that."

After hearing a knock on the door she smoothed out invisible wrinkles in her knee-length, black dress and approached the door. "Good evening Bruce." She greeted.

"Hello Lacy." Bruce smiled. "You look lovely."

"Thanks." She smiled, grabbing her purse and moving out to the hallway. She locked her door and then looked back at Bruce.

"Are you ready?" He asked, holding out his arm for her to links hers through.

"Yes." She nodded, hoping this wasn't going to be a huge mistake.

* * *

About two hours into the fundraiser, Lacy had made several solid business contacts. Bruce had been taking her around the room, introducing her to a variety of people and she found that many of them were receptive to her ideas.

Although she was having a decent time, she couldn't help but constantly look around and wonder which guests were really spies for the Joker. After she told him last week that she was determined to come to the fundraiser he was silent about it during the rest of his visit, but she assumed that he had placed his men in the ballroom to keep an eye on her. She made sure to smile more than normal so they would report it back to him.

"So you see, Mr. Newman, consultants like me aren't someone to be feared." She smiled. "We're harmless and do minimal damage."

Mr. Newman laughed, as did his entourage and Bruce. "Well you've certainly convinced me Miss Williams. Expect me to get in touch with you soon and we'll talk more about what you can do for my company."

"Thank you very much." Lacy smiled again, reaching into her purse and giving him her business card. "I look forward to hearing from you."

"If you'll excuse us for a moment." Bruce interjected, smiling and pulling Lacy off to the side.

"This party is wonderful." Lacy complimented Bruce as they made their way over to a corner by the window.

"It's ok." Bruce shrugged. He didn't like being here, and if he had been allowed to choose, he would never throw another fundraiser again. He had never liked them much, but his intense hatred of them came from the last one where the Joker had appeared looking for Harvey and almost killed Rachel by throwing her out of a window.

"You don't like fundraisers, do you?" She guessed. While they were talking with other guests, she noticed a slight look of discomfort on his face. To most people it would have been unnoticeable, but she had always been fairly good at reading people.

"Does it show?" He asked with a laugh.

"Just a little." She nodded. "Thank you for bringing me here though. I think I may have opened the door to landing some new jobs."

"Well the pleasure is all mine I assure you. It's nice to bring someone to this type of party who can actually talk to these people in an intelligent way." He really enjoyed spending time with Lacy. He wasn't interested in her in anything other than a platonic way. He knew that his heart would always belong to Rachel. But he could definitely see himself becoming good friends with Lacy.

He just hoped she wasn't involved in the corruption that he suspected her company of being involved in. So far he had yet to be able to find any substantial proof either way, but it was still early.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the ballroom, the Joker was gathering his men. "Are you all ready?" The Joker asked his men as the gathered near the entrance of the fundraiser. He didn't wait for his men to reply before saying, "And here…we…go." They made their way into the building and he fired his shotgun off into the ceiling to announce their presence. "Good evening ladies and gentleman." He smiled as his men scattered off into the crowd of the ballroom to secure the place.

Lacy saw the Joker and instinctively grabbed on to Bruce's arm. "No, no no! Damn it, this isn't good." She whispered. She wanted to get Bruce out of here just in case the Joker was going to attack him but wasn't sure how to explain why to Bruce. She would just have to make sure that nothing bad happened to him.

Bruce realized there was no way for him to slip away and change into his Batman costume without too many people noticing he was missing. Plus, Lacy was still grabbing on to his arm. If he left now he would have to explain why to her. He would just have to try and make sure that no one got hurt, especially Lacy. He looked over at Lacy and saw her looking at the Joker.

He looked at the Joker and then back at Lacy. It almost seemed like they were making eye contact with each other and sharing a moment. He also noticed that she wasn't looking terrified like everyone else. She looked angry more than terrified. He thought that was odd and made a mental note of it.

Lacy locked eyes with the Joker for a moment before he looked away. She couldn't believe that the Joker was there, but should've known better. He was always doing things that she couldn't wrap her brain around. She wanted to run over there and yell at him, tell him to leave; however, she couldn't do that. She was helpless in this situation.

"I am terribly sorry to interrupt your fancy party," the Joker told them, going over to the food tables. He picked up some of the food, looked at it distastefully and knocked several trays onto the floor. "I just couldn't help myself. I had to come by and show my support for…" He walked over to an older woman. "What's this party for again?"

The older woman froze up, unable to speak once she saw the Joker's scars up close.

He grew tired of waiting for her to answer and rolled his eyes. "Never mind. You're boring." He sighed, moving across the floor. "Let's see who else I can talk to." He stopped in front of a man in his sixties. "You!" He pointed with his gun. "What's this fine party for?"

"The Wayne Foundation." Mr. Newman replied, studying the Joker. "You know, young man, we're not afraid of you."

"You're not? Really?" The Joker turned his head sideways, laughing and smiling. "You all really aren't afraid of me?" He looked around at the crowd. "Well maybe we need to do something about that." In seconds and without a second thought, he aimed his shotgun and shot Mr. Newman in the head. Because of the close range, it blew his head off and it landed on the floor with a thud.

Everyone gasped and started to panic. Most all of the women started crying, and everyone ran to get away from him, running into the corners of the ballroom. "There we go!" The Joker laughed. "Now you're all afraid of me. That's much better."

Bruce tried to get Lacy to move back out of the way with the other people so that he could try to take care of the Joker, but she wasn't moving. "Lacy, c'mon." He tried again to get her to go by grabbing her arm and pulling, but had no luck.

Everyone had moved out of the Joker's way, except for Lacy and Bruce. She couldn't seem to get her feet to move. So she just stood there, in front of the crowd, watching everything and looking at the carnage he had just created. Minutes ago she had been talking to Mr. Newman and now he was dead, brutally and senselessly killed by the Joker.

It was the first time she had seen the Joker kill firsthand, and she wanted it to be the last time. It occurred to her that Mr. Newman's death was all her fault. If she hadn't insisted on coming tonight, he wouldn't have shown up and Mr. Newman would still be alive. She turned her attention to the Joker. He was still looking at the body of Mr. Newman and laughing, proud of the chaos he had caused in the ballroom.

"He he he ho ha ha ha he he." He laughed. "I will never understand it. You people never learn that you need to fear me. I just don't understand why you all haven't figured that out yet." He slowly walked over to where Lacy and Bruce were.

With another laugh, he said, "Well Brucie, you sure have outdone yourself with this fundraiser. It's even better than the one you threw for ole' Harvey and that one was a lot of fun. Remember?" He paused for a moment. "Oh no, wait a minute. Were you even there that night? I don't remember seeing you. I know I saw Batman and Rachel, but not you."

Bruce couldn't stand that the Joker was laughing about that fundraiser and moved to punch the Joker in the face. He got one good punch in before two of the Joker's men grabbed his arms and held him up. Once he was secured, the Joker pounded the side of his face with the back of the shotgun. The Joker's men released their grip on him and Bruce fell to the floor, knocked out by the hit.

"Bruce!" Lacy immediately bent down to make sure that he was ok but felt the Joker's hand on her arm, pulling her back up.

"Not so fast." He told Lacy, looking her up and down. "Well aren't you pretty tonight."

She wanted to back away, to run and get as far away from him as possible but she knew it would be pointless. So she pulled herself together and stared at him as he leaned in, getting only a few inches away from her face. "Having a good time?" He whispered.

"Why are you here?" She whispered back.

"I just wanted to have a good time! It's been so long since I've been to a party." He announced to everyone. "And I don't know about you fine Gotham citizens but I am having a wonderful time."

"Please leave." She mouthed to him. "Please." She was near tears now.

He raised his eyebrow. "I guess so. But only because this party's getting boring. I mean, geez, Batman isn't even here to try and save you all this time. Guess he has better things to do." He looked down at Bruce and kicked him in the stomach. "I'll see you later, my pet." He whispered into Lacy's ear before leaving as quickly as he entered.

When she was sure the Joker really was gone, she bent down to take care of Bruce. He was starting to wake up. "Bruce, are you ok?"

"I think so." Bruce replied, trying to get up on his feet. "Where's the Joker?"

"He just left." Lacy replied. "You're bleeding." She took a tissue from her purse and gently wiped away the blood that was slowly trickling down the side of his face.

"I'm fine." He assured her. He had gotten worse wounds before, this was nothing. "Are you ok? Did he say anything to you? What happened?"

"I'm fine." She told him, although that wasn't really the case. She was extremely shaken up from this incident, as well as furious with the Joker. She thought about it and knew that she had to lie about what the Joker had told her. "Before he left he said he had enough fun and was out of here. That's all."

Bruce wasn't sure he believed her but let it go for now since his head and ribs were starting to bother him.


	13. Chapter 13

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to those who have reviewed! Comments (both good and bad) are welcomed!

Chapter Thirteen

About an hour later, after being interviewed by the police and assuring them that she would go down to the station tomorrow to sign their statements, Bruce and Lacy were allowed to leave the ballroom. Bruce had insisted on walking her up to her apartment door, even though Lacy protested it wasn't necessary. They rode in the elevator to the sixth floor together in silence, both caught up in their own thoughts about the night's events.

Lacy was mad at herself for going to the fundraiser. Why couldn't she have just given in to the Joker's demand and not gone? At the time she defied him because she didn't want to let him have any more control over her life than he already did. But at the worst she thought he would just have men spying on her. She never imagined that he would show up and kill an innocent person.

This whole night was her fault. She should have known that if she defied him he would retaliate, but up until now he had always retaliated by directly punishing her. She could now add this to the growing list of things that were weighing on her conscience. Every death, every torture, every crime he committed only added to the internal struggle she felt.

On one hand, he was evil and needed to stopped. She knew that and understood that. But on the other hand, she just couldn't bring herself to tell anyone. As crazy as it sounded, she just couldn't do it. She couldn't stop him. She knew that most people would never be able to understand that.

They'd wonder how she could let him do the terrible things he does and just stand back and watch. They would never be able to understand how she could feel any kind of internal struggle about what to do. Hell, half the time she didn't fully understand it herself.

But over the years he had broken her. Manipulated and tore her down until she was merely a shell of her former self. She used to be decisive and assertive, always willing to call people out on their mistakes. She was a strong woman who never would have stood by and let the Joker do the things he's done to the citizens of Gotham City.

That woman was gone though. He slowly and meticulously chipped away at her until there was nothing left and then rebuilt her exactly the way he wanted. He had manipulated her mind and body into thinking that she needed him around.

And she hated him for everything he had done to her over the years, but not as much as she hated herself for letting him.

Perhaps it was time to finally stand up to him and break the cycle that was ruining her life. Maybe it was time to look him in the face and tell him exactly what she thought of him.

She knew that telling him what she thought of him wouldn't do any good though. He would just laugh it off because he didn't care what she thought. No, if she was truly going to stand up to him she would need to do it by hitting him where it counts.

Bruce was lost in his thought, thinking back to the last fundraiser he threw for Harvey Dent before all hell broke loose. The Joker had showed up then too and almost killed Rachel. It was always a part of the Joker's modus operandi to at least threaten, if not hurt, those who get in his way. Yet he did absolutely nothing to Lacy tonight. That made him wonder why and he was determined to find out.

What was so special about Lacy to the Joker? A couple of days ago the Joker's men tried to kill her and now when he had a perfect opportunity to kill her, he didn't even leave a scratch on her. It didn't make sense to him yet. Was he playing some kind of cat and mouse game with her? Was she somehow involved with his schemes? He decided that he would keep an extra watchful eye on Lacy in the next few days just in case.

Bruce was the first one to speak as they stood outside Lacy's door. "You know aside from the Joker portion of the evening, I had a nice time."

"Me too." Lacy nodded. "But maybe you shouldn't throw any more fundraisers for awhile."

"Yeah, I was thinking that too." He admitted. "Although I doubt many people will want to come to a fundraiser that I throw. I'd probably have to pay people to come."

"And that would defeat the purpose of a fundraiser." She pointed out.

"Exactly." He smiled.

"You're head is still bleeding." She grimaced at the wound on his head. "Does it hurt?"

"A little," he admitted, lightly touching it, "but I'll be fine."

"I still think you should have gone to the hospital. What if you have a concussion or internal bleeding?"

"The paramedics seemed to think that I would be ok. I trust them." He told her. Besides, he had experience with this kind of thing and knew that there wasn't anything seriously wrong with him.

"Ok." She sighed. "But take care of yourself."

"I will." He assured her. "Are you ok?" He asked, noticing the far-away look that had been on her face for the past hour. "You look really shaken up. Are you sure the Joker didn't say or do anything else to you?"

"Yeah." She lied. "I'm fine. He didn't touch me. I just feel so bad for Mr. Newman's family. I still can't believe what happened to him."

"I can." Bruce argued. "The Joker is definitely twisted and evil. He will do anything just to create chaos, even if there is no other reason than that."

"I'm surprised Batman didn't show up." Lacy commented. "I wonder why he didn't come."

"He was probably taking care of other business in the city." Bruce lied. He knew now that he should have found a way to disappear at the fundraiser and change into his Batman suit. Maybe then things would have been different. Maybe then Mr. Newman wouldn't have been brutally murdered.

He decided to talk more about the Joker in hopes of getting Lacy to reveal her opinion about him. "You know, most people who encounter the Joker are really scared. You didn't look afraid of him though."

"He doesn't really scare me." She admitted.

"Well forgive me, but if he doesn't scare you, then what does?" He was curious.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I'd like to think that I'm not afraid of anything but that would be a lie. I guess I'm more afraid of myself than him."

He thought that was weird but didn't get a chance to ask any follow-up questions.

She didn't want to get into a discussion about the Joker, especially since he was probably waiting for her in her apartment. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I am exhausted and just want to get some sleep."

"Oh of course." He smiled even though he was disappointed that he wouldn't get to ask her anymore questions. "Goodnight then."

"Goodnight. I'll see you on Monday."

"Yeah. Bye Lacy." He turned to leave.

She entered her apartment and closed her door, leaning against it. When she was certain that Bruce was no longer in the hallway and able to hear her, she spoke. "You can come out now. He's gone."

"Thank God!" The Joker exclaimed throwing a basket of fruit that was on the counter into the trash as he made his way over to her. "What is it with all the healthy foods in here? Your kitchen's so boring. There's no ice cream, potato chips, nothing even remotely close to junk food. Just wine and healthy foods."

"Well I'm sorry that my kitchen can't entertain you the way you would like it to. Maybe you should leave and find a kitchen that will." She spat out angrily.

"Whoa." He held his hands up in mock surrender. "What is your problem?"

She looked at him strangely. "You really have to ask?"

He just nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah. I do."

"You came to the fundraiser tonight and killed a man! And he happened to be a very nice man that I had just met and was going to hire me." She explained.

"Ah. I get it now." He smiled and laughed. "You're mad that I caused you to lose a client. I see. Well, you can always get new clients. You're very good at your job…"

"Damn it, it's not about my work!" She yelled. "Why did you have to show up tonight?"

"My pet, you had to have known that I had to teach you a lesson." He explained as he walked around her, eying her body as he stalked her. "I did not give permission for you to go out with Bruce Wayne, but yet you still went."

"It wasn't a…" She started to protest but was interrupted.

"Yes, yes, yes. I know. You say it wasn't a date. That point doesn't really matter. What matters is I told you to do something and you did the opposite. So you had to be punished. Now hopefully you know that when you go against me, people will die." He waved his finger in front of her face. "If you don't want any more deaths weighing on your conscience, I suggest you start obeying me."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. The anger and hatred continued to mix inside her until she couldn't contain it anymore. It bubbled over like an erupting volcano. "You really are fucking crazy." She said, very matter of factly.

"No." He shook his head repeatedly and pointed his finger at her again. "No, I…I'm not. I'm not crazy."

"Yeah you are." She insisted. "You killed an innocent man tonight for no reason and now you're saying you did it to send me a message? That's crazy."

"Stop calling me crazy." He warned, grabbing a hold of her chin.

"Ok." She agreed, breaking out of his grasp. "I'll just start calling you a freak instead. How do you like that, freak?"

He was losing his patience quickly but found himself tempering it for the time being. "Look, I understand that you are probably a little angry about my methods…"

"Angry about your methods?" She repeated, interrupting him. "I'm beyond angry. I've crossed over from angry into royally pissed off!" She shouted in his face. "You're such a bastard! I hate you! Do you hear me? I hate you!"

She started punching him in the chest as she shouted. "I hate everything about you! I hate the stupid games that you make me play! I hate the way you just show up in my life anytime you feel like it! I hate the way you make me feel about myself! I hate the way you manipulate me! I just hate you! I hate you so much!"

She started to breakdown and cry as she punched him, each punch losing strength. Suddenly she found herself in a place she hadn't been in a long time. She was being embraced by the Joker in an almost tender way, or at least as tender as the Joker could be.

"Ssshhh ssshhhh sssshhh sshhhh." He cooed softly, letting her head rest on his shoulder as she continued to cry.

As weird as it may sound to others, she found it strangely comforting to be in his arms like that. For a moment she could close her eyes and almost believe that Jack was holding her and that everything was going to be ok. But the illusion lasted for mere seconds before being shattered by reality. Jack didn't exist anymore, at least now in the way she wanted. She broke away from him and wiped her eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was cry over him.

"I was just showing you that actions have consequences." He shrugged, pacing around the living room. "Just be glad I didn't kill Bruce." He almost added 'yet' to that statement, but thought against it.

"You mean 'just be glad I didn't kill Bruce yet', right?" She pointed out. "Cause isn't that your grand plan? Kill every rich man in Gotham until you smoke out Batman?"

He simply smiled, amazed that she knew him so well that she could predict what he wanted to say but didn't. But he shouldn't have been amazed. She was the closest person to him, the closest thing he had to family…

He suddenly felt nauseous. Thinking of Lacy as family was not something he wanted to do. It was then that he realized it was getting close to time to get rid of her. She was becoming a liability.

Earlier, when she called him crazy and a freak, he had done nothing. He tempered his anger. He didn't hurt her, or even yell at her. If anyone else in the world had spoken to him in that way, they would be hanging out the window right now by their intestines. But she was getting special treatment. And why was she getting special treatment?

It was because he was actually starting to like her.

Granted he wasn't starting to love her. He was incapable of loving anything other than his knives and chaos. But he really was starting to like spending time with her, even though most of the time she wasn't nice to him.

Maybe that's what he liked. Maybe he just liked someone calling him out on his tricks. Until lately, she had been docile and held her tongue most of the time when she disagreed with him. Now though, she was extremely vocal about everything he did.

A wider smile broke out on his face as he realized that he didn't like Lacy so much as he liked having someone to banter back and forth with. He felt better about that and he could live with that distinction.

"Are you just going to ignore me now?" She asked when he didn't respond to her question.

He realized she had asked him about his plan to smoke out the Batman. "I will find out who Batman is one way or another."

"Then what are you going to do?" She asked with a chuckle. "You told me once that you didn't want to kill Batman because he was too much fun to mess with."

"Who said anything about killing him?" He laughed. "I just want to know who he is so I can kill everyone he cares about. I figure I'll start with any ladies he likes to entertain, and then move on to his family and friends. Batman is fun to mess with, but can you imagine how fun he would be if I started killing everyone he loves? His misery would be delicious!"

She was horrified by his plans and realized that something had to be done about him. The only question remained was who would be able to do what was needed to stop him.


	14. Chapter 14

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: I just want to say thanks to everyone who has read and/or reviewed this story!

Chapter Fourteen

There had been several minutes of silence between them. He was staring at her intensely and it was starting to creep her out. "Can I ask you something?" She asked hesitantly.

"You can ask." He replied, sitting on the couch. "But it doesn't mean I'll answer."

"Why do you keep coming back here? Why do you keep insinuating yourself into my life? You obviously don't love me anymore now that you've adopted this whole Joker persona and erased Jack from this world. You've distanced yourself from him in every possible way except your association with me, but for some reason you keep coming back here."

"I can't help but wonder why." She watched him intently as she continued talking. "You've followed me from city to city every time I have tried to move away from you. You have people watching me and do crazy things like kill innocent people to teach me lessons. So why can't you let me go, let me be free and stop tormenting me?"

He was silent for several minutes, not sure if he really wanted to answer this question, or even if he could properly put his answer into words.

After at least five minutes of silence, Lacy realized she probably wasn't going to get an answer. She walked over to the window and stared out at the moon. "Never mind. I should know better than to expect an answer from you. Just forget I even…"

"It's because you are mine." He finally answered in a tone that let her know he was annoyed by the question. "Or at least you were his. Since I took over everything he was and had, that makes you mine now. I don't like giving up things that are mine and I definitely don't like to share my possessions. That should be obvious by now."

"Maybe I don't want to yours anymore." She softly spoke without turning to face him. "Did you ever think about that?"

"I don't think you really want me to leave you alone. You'd miss me too much." He smiled, getting up from the couch and turning her around so he was standing in front of her.

He was partially right that she would miss him. Well, not him. She would miss the tiny, itsy-bitsy part of the Joker that still resembled her Jack. Although every time she looked into his eyes, she saw Jack less and less.

"Or maybe you'd just miss the parts of Jack that you think you see in me." The Joker hypothesized. He knew that he had surprised her by verbalizing her thoughts. "Oh I see you analyze me, trying to see some of Jack in me. It's highly annoying to me but I let you have your fun."

"Gee thanks." She rolled her eyes.

"You're a damn fool. You know that, right?" He asked her with a chuckle. "You still believe that somewhere, deep down inside of me, Jack's in there just waiting for the day he can reappear. I can tell you now, sweetheart, that will never happen. I am here to stay. Jack couldn't handle this world. Truth was he never really could. I can though and I'm here to stay."

He licked his lips a few times. "And, while I believe you truly did love him, you have become," he tried to find the best word, "captivated with me. You may hate me, but you can't live without me."

"That's not true." She weakly protested, not sure what was the truth anymore. "I'd live a great life without you."

"Oh really?" He laughed. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you on that. Do you want to know why?"

"No," she folded her arms across her chest, "but I have a feeling I have no real say in it."

He grabbed a hold of her chin and forced her to make eye contact with him. "You see my pet, the reason is you are addicted to me. You really should see the look in your eyes whenever you see me. There's a slight flicker in there that lets me know you are completely mine. And it gets brighter whenever we have sex or fight. That's when your true passion for me shows."

"I don't have any passion for you." She denied. "And I'm definitely not yours."

Without a word, his lips descended on hers. At first she struggled against the kiss, trying to keep his tongue out of her mouth. After a few seconds though, she stopped struggling. Her mouth opened up to accept his tongue and his was met by her tongue. He wrapped one arm around her head and rested a hand on her neck, not surprised when she did the same to him.

Once he was satisfied that he had made his point, he broke off the kiss and moved away from her. "Are you so sure that you don't have any passion for me now?"

She was embarrassed that she had gotten into the kiss and felt stupid for letting him play her. She reached up and slapped him across the face.

"Ouch. That wasn't very nice." He commented, rubbing the side of his face and pretending that it hurt. "But I think I stuck a nerve. Maybe I'm right."

"So what?" She asked. "We kissed. That doesn't mean anything."

"Sure it doesn't," he laughed, "and every Christmas I dress up like Santa Clause and hand out toys to poor children in the city."

He started walking around her living room. "I know you like to think of yourself as being better than me, being above me, and in most ways you probably are. You couldn't torture or kill anyone. You couldn't rob banks or threaten people with knives. But you are just as messed up in the head as I am, maybe even more so. Sure you may not go around killing or breaking the laws set up by Gotham's finest, but you keep my secret and allow me to continue to cause chaos and mayhem."

He stopped where he was and looked at her. "Have you ever wondered how many people I've tortured, killed or caused the death of so far?"

"No." She looked at him and shook her head. "And I don't want to know."

"Yes you do." He told her. "Don't worry I won't keep you in suspense for long. I believe the number is growing well into the thousands by now. It might even be close to ten thousand. I'm not sure anymore. I lost track somewhere around one thousand. But that includes my henchmen too. If you are looking for an estimate of 'innocent' people, then I don't know. It's anybody's guess."

"You're so sick." She shook her head. "Why would you tell me something like that?"

"Because, my pet, I want to show you the consequences of keeping my secret!" He exclaimed happily as he practically skipped over to where she stood. "All of the destruction I have caused is yours too! We share the blame and guilt for it. I get the blame and you get the guilt!"

"I don't get the guilt." She lied.

"So you mean to tell me that you don't feel even a little guilty for what happened to poor Mr…." He stopped, unable to remember the guy's name. "Who did I kill tonight?"

"Newman!" Lacy sighed. "His name was Benjamin Newman."

"Ah! That's right!" He smiled. "Newman. You don't feel any guilt over the fact that he is dead right now because of you? All because you couldn't stay home like a good little wifey?"

"That's none of your business." She replied defiantly. She normally would have also reminded him not to call her his wife but let it go.

"Aha!" He laughed, pointing at her. "You do feel the guilt!"

"Ok, are you happy?" She asked, raising her voice. "I do feel guilty, very guilty. I hate you for asking me to keep your secret but I hate myself even more for doing so."

"Interesting." He mused. "Have you ever wondered why you do keep my secret? I mean you could easily go to Commissioner Gordon or your new friend Batman and tell them everything you know about me. They might even be able to stop me…for a little while. So what's stopping you?"

He stopped for a moment, as if giving her a chance to answer. When she didn't, he continued. "The thing that is stopping you is the fact that you like me. You may hate what I am and what I do but you can't stop yourself from wanting and needing me around. What would you do without me?"

"I'd live a very happy life." She told him.

"Then why haven't you gone to the police? You have enough information about me that you could easily help them catch me." He came back to where she stood and winked at her. "The answer to that is the fact that you are completely infatuated with me."

"I'm not captivated or infatuated by you and I'm sure as hell not addicted to you. I don't know why you think that, but it's not true." She denied angrily. "You're…"

He put his finger over her lips. "Don't say crazy."

"Stupid." Lacy said. She was originally going to say crazy but decided against it. "You're stupid. There's no way I'm addicted to you."

"Really?" He asked. "I'm wrong then?"

"Yes. I don't like you, I don't need you, and I could easily live without you." She defiantly replied. "I'd be perfectly fine if you left here and never came back or contacted me ever again."

He laughed. "Ha ha ha he he ho ho ha ha. That's a funny one."

"I'm not joking." She told him. "I'm completely serious."

"Ok." He relented with a smile. "I'll play your game for once. I'll leave you alone. I won't interfere in your life. If you want me to be in your life, you'll have to be the one to contact me."

"Seriously?" Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out the catch.

"Yes." He nodded, formulating his plan now. Maybe it would be a good idea to have a 'trial separation' from her. It would definitely give him more time to focus on discovering the identity of Batman and let him get back to causing more chaos. Besides, she won't be able to stay away from him for long.

And of course he would continue to have Chip and Dale watch her like a hawk. She would have to be crazy if she really thought that he would leave her alone completely. He wasn't stupid. He 

knew that leaving her alone without any supervision would be a bad idea. But he would let her think that she was on her own.

"What's the catch?" She asked suspiciously.

"No catch." He slanted his head to the left. "No catch at all."

"So let me get this straight." She laughed. "You won't have your men following me? Won't check up on me? Won't kill anyone and then blame it on me? Won't come around here looking for…whatever it is that you get from me?"

"You have my word," he assured her, not feeling bad about his lie.

"I can make my own decisions now and not have to worry about your response to it?" She narrowed her eyes. This was sounding too good to be true.

"Yes." He nodded, getting annoyed by all of her questions.

"Why are you willing to do this?" She didn't know why all of a sudden he was doing this now. She had been asking for him to release her from this emotional prison he'd been holding her in for a long time.

He sighed. "You said you didn't want to be mine anymore, so you are released. There's no catch. I assure you of that."

"Good." She smiled. "Then that means I never have to see you again."

"If that's what you choose." He smiled, pulling a joker card from his pocket and handing it to her. "Here's my card. Call me when you have come to your senses and are ready to admit that you need me."

She took the card and laughed. "I wouldn't be waiting by the phone if I were you."

He smiled but didn't laugh. He knew better than she did. She wasn't going to last long without him. With a quick wink, he said, "I have a feeling we will be seeing each other again real soon." He then leapt over to the window and disappeared into the night.

She held the card in her hand and contemplated what this meant. He was going to leave her alone? What was the catch? There was always a catch. She had to figure out what it was.

This seemed too easy, and she had learned that nothing is ever easy when the Joker is involved. There's always some twist. Exhausted, she decided to get some sleep before trying to figure it all out. She placed the Joker card on the coffee table and headed into the bedroom to get some sleep.

* * *

Bruce slammed the folder down on the kitchen table, causing the contents to shift and poke out of the folder.

"See something in there you don't like?" Alfred asked.

"No, not really." Bruce replied. "That's the problem. I can't find anything in Lacy's past that would directly connect her to the Joker."

"And you thought you would?" The older man asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah." He answered, looking at Alfred strangely. "Why? Do you think I'm looking in the wrong places?"

"It's possible." Alfred nodded. "Think about it. The Joker's not dumb. If there was something connecting him to Lacy he would have destroyed it."

"So what should I do?" Bruce asked.

"Do you trust her?" Alfred needed to know that before he gave out his advice.

"Yes." Bruce nodded.

"Then why don't you just ask her about her past?"

"I'm not sure she'd tell me anything." Bruce sighed. "She's guarded."

"I'm sure you can find a way to get her to talk to you." Alfred assured him. "You just have to be creative and charming."


	15. Chapter 15

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading and/or reviewing this story! All comments are greatly appreciated.

Chapter Fifteen

When Lacy's alarm clock started going off the next day she frowned because she wasn't looking forward to getting up. She turned off the alarm clock, stretched for a moment and then got up from the bed. She walked into the living room, tying the robe around her body as she went. She made her way over to the coffee table and sighed when she saw the Joker's 'calling card' was still there.

The existence of the card meant that last night really did happen and it wasn't a dream. Poor Mr. Newman was still dead after the Joker crashed Bruce's fundraiser, and Bruce was still injured. Then there was also the fact that the Joker had given her back her freedom.

She couldn't help but laugh at that. Freedom. It was such a joke. She wanted to be happy about his declaration that he wouldn't be hanging around her anymore, but she wasn't as stupid as he wanted to believe. She didn't know what it was, but she knew that there was a catch.

The best guess that she had was that perhaps he was going to just stop dropping by but would continue to have his men spy on her. That was just a guess though.

She knew that there was no way he would really let her go. She'd asked him several times to leave her alone with no success, so she doubted he was sincere in his promise.

She had to laugh again at his over-confidence that she couldn't live without him. He was wrong about her and her supposed 'addiction' to him. It was a crazy idea.

With a long sigh, she moved into the kitchen to make a quick breakfast. Normally on Saturdays she would be lazy but she had to go down to the police station and sign her statement about what happened at the fundraiser. She hated lying and keeping information from the police, but knew it would be much easier than telling the truth.

* * *

When Lacy arrived at the police station she was escorted to what she assumed was an interrogation room and was told to wait for Commissioner Gordon. While waiting, she took a closer look at the room she was taken to. It was a plain white room with just a table and two chairs. The table looked like it could fall apart with the slightest bump and the chairs were metal and uncomfortable.

A part of her was extremely anxious about her surroundings and she hoped the commissioner wouldn't be asking her more questions.

"Good morning Miss Williams." A figure greeted with a small smile as he entered the room with some papers in his hand. "My name is Commissioner Gordon."

"I know." She smiled back. "I've seen you on the news before and I believe you were on the scene last night."

"Yes I was." Gordon nodded. "How are you feeling today?"

"Fine I guess." She replied, wanting to just sign her statement and get out of here. "Is my statement ready to be signed?"

"Almost." Gordon replied, reading over one of the papers he brought in with him. "Now you said last night that you saw the Joker kill Mr. Newman, correct?"

"Yes." Lacy replied softly. She knew that she would never be able to get the image of Mr. Newman's head being shot off his body out of her head.

"And then after that, people scattered into the corners of the ballroom?" He asked.

"Yes." She answered. "I believe this should all be in the statement I gave last night."

"It is." He assured her, looking up from the paper for the first time since asking her questions and giving her another small smile. "I just wasn't the one who took your statement and I want to make sure that it is accurate before you sign it."

"Ok." She said, not sure what was going on. Although she wasn't a member of the police force, she figured that it wasn't exactly protocol for the police commissioner to fact check witness' statements before they are signed. Also, she wasn't sure that other witnesses would be shown to an interrogation room. Why was she getting this kind of treatment? Did they somehow know about her connection to the Joker?

She reminded herself not to be paranoid and to calm down. Police officers were like bees. They can both smell fear.

"So then what happened after Mr. Newman's death?" Gordon continued, looking down at his paper again.

"Um, well there was a lot of crying and screaming from the other guests." She explained. "I think Bruce tried to…"

"Bruce as in Bruce Wayne, right?" Gordon interrupted.

"Yeah." She nodded. "He tried to get me to back up and join the other guests in the corner but I couldn't move."

"Why not?" Gordon asked.

"I don't know. I guess I was so shocked by what I had seen that I was frozen in place." She explained. "I've never seen anything like that before. It was so brutal and disturbing."

"Yes, well the Joker excels in brutal and disturbing actions." Gordon quipped. "In your statement, it says that the Joker then made his way over to you and Bruce. What happened then?"

Lacy sighed, wishing that she didn't have to replay this situation out for the commissioner. "He made some rude comments to Bruce. They were jokes that weren't funny and Bruce punched him. So then the Joker's men held Bruce up while the Joker got in a few shots."

"So once Bruce was knocked out, what did the Joker do then?" Gordon asked. "Did he say anything to you?"

"Nothing really." She lied. "He simply said that the party was getting boring and he was going to leave."

"So he didn't say anything to you other than that?"

"Nope." She shook her head. His questions were starting to bother her and she wanted nothing more than to get out of here.

"Ok." Gordon smiled at her. He placed the piece of paper he had been holding in front of her and pulled out a pen from his jacket. "I will just need you to sign here and date it."

"That's easy enough." She replied, taking the pen and scribbling her name on the paper. She then wrote the date and put the pen down on the paper. "Here you go."

"Thank you Miss Williams." Gordon gathered up the paper and put the pen back where it belonged. "If we have any more questions for you we will be in touch."

"More questions?" She asked, wondering why they would have more questions for her.

"Yes." He nodded. "We may need more information. Is that a problem?"

"No." She shook her head. "It's no problem at all. Anything to help."

"You are free to go now. Have a pleasant day." He told her as he got up and left the room.

She picked up her purse and slowly headed out of the room. On her way out she was so distracted that she hardly noticed Bruce calling her name. It wasn't until she was lightly tapping her shoulder that she looked over. "Oh, Bruce. Hi."

"Hi." He smiled. "Did you just sign your statement?"

"Yes." She replied. "Did you?"

"Yeah." He answered.

"How are you feeling?" She was worried about him and was glad to see that he looked like he was ok.

"I'm fine." He assured her. "It will take a lot more than what happened last night to bring me down."

"That's good to hear." She chuckled. "Well I better get going." She readjusted her purse onto her shoulder and turned to leave. "I'll see you on Monday."

"Lacy?" He called out, causing her to turn around.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"I was just getting ready to go home and have some lunch. Would you like to join me?" He asked.

"For lunch?" She questioned. "At your place?"

"Yes, I believe that was what the invitation was for." He smirked.

She had to think about this for a moment. While she did want to test this new 'freedom' she was supposedly enjoying, she couldn't help but want to be cautious. "I don't know…"

"C'mon." He really wanted her to join him. "It's my way of trying to make up for taking you to the fundraiser last night and exposing you to the Joker."

She couldn't help herself and a laugh escaped her lips. If only Bruce knew that last night wasn't her first exposure to the Joker. "Ok. I'll come over for lunch."

He wasn't sure what he had said to get her to laugh like that but was glad because it got her to say yes. "Wonderful."

Alfred told him last night to try to be charming in order to get closer to Lacy, and that's exactly what he was planning on doing. She wouldn't know what hit her.

"Would you like a ride?" He asked as they left the police station.

"That would be nice," She answered with a smile, "thanks."

* * *

The Joker paced back and forth, deep in thought. He was getting bored and felt like he needed to cause more chaos around Gotham. Although crashing the Wayne Foundation fundraiser and killing that man last night was fun, he still felt a bloodlust that wasn't quenched yet.

Perhaps he should have killed more people at the fundraiser.

He couldn't figure out why he was so cranky today. Earlier this morning he killed one of his men just for saying hello. Now he couldn't even remember the guy's name. It was either Steve or Sam. He was sure it started with a 'S'…or maybe a "F". Maybe the guy's name was Frank.

He shrugged it off because it didn't really matter to him too much. The point was one of his guys were dead for no reason. Normally he only did that kind of thing when he was cranky, frustrated, or mad at the Batman.

It couldn't be the latter because he hadn't had any real interaction with the Batman in months. He didn't think his foul mood was caused by the caped crusader.

Last night he was in a relatively good mood. So what changed? Thinking about it he realized that the only thing which had changed was the fact that he had 'let Lacy go'.

He had to laugh at her reaction to what he told her last night. The look on her face when he said he was giving her back her freedom was priceless. Although she looked suspicious, he was certain that she believed every lie he fed her.

Truth was that he had no intention of letting Lacy go. He still had Chip and Dale watching her every move. The only difference was that they were now in charge of monitoring the video feed from the cameras he installed in her apartment. He was giving them that responsibility so that he could focus more on de-masking Batman and causing general chaos in Gotham.

Also, he would stop visiting her at her apartment until she called him and begged for him to come back into her life. He knew it wouldn't be long until she discovered that she needed him in her life and that she missed him when he wasn't there.

Although he had told her that he wouldn't kill anyone and blame it on her, he was lying. He would kill anyone he wanted for any reason he wanted. He was the Joker after all and wasn't going to let any woman dictate the way he ran his life—even Lacy. Especially Lacy.

But he was going off on a tangent. He still wanted to know what was making him be in such a bad mood. Then it hit him. He…missed…her.

He stopped dead in his tracks, contemplating his last thought. It was impossible for him to miss her. That would mean that he actually cared about her and his only interest in her was as his plaything. Right?

Oh he did not like this new realization that she might mean something to him. He felt so dirty…so common…so human. It was a feeling he did not like and wanted to get rid of immediately.

He had the perfect plan to do so. He would blow something up. Explosions always made him feel better. Yes, explosions would make this feeling go away. It had to.


	16. Chapter 16

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews! Hopefully I can continue to bring you chapters that you will enjoy!

Chapter Sixteen

Jim Gordon sat at his desk, going over both Lacy and Bruce's statements about the fundraiser. While he didn't have any questions or concerns about Bruce's account, he sensed that Lacy wasn't telling him everything.

He didn't want to come right out and admit that he thought she was lying or that she gave the police a false statement, but that's what his gut was telling him. Over the past few years, he had grown more dependant upon relying on his gut and intuition. It had saved him many times.

Last night the Joker could have easily killed Lacy the way he killed Mr. Newman, but he didn't. he didn't even lay a hand on her. Other witnesses said it looked like the Joker and Lacy were deeply engaged in conversation. Yet Lacy denied he said anything of value to her.

Bruce unfortunately was no help because he had been knocked out by the time the Joker and Lacy were talking. And the other witnesses were too far away to hear what they were talking about. They simply gave their opinions about the body language and other nonverbal signs being expressed between the two of them.

Something was telling him that there was more to this story than what was said in her statement. The only question was how to get her to tell the whole truth.

* * *

"It's nice." Lacy complimented Bruce as they entered his penthouse. She had to admit that it was a nice place; however it screamed to her that a bachelor lived there. The decoration, or lack there of, was a classic prototype of a place inhabited by a bachelor. It was essentially a bachelor's pad.

The other thing she noticed as she started walking around was that there were no pictures up anywhere. None of his family or friends. There weren't even any pictures of himself. "Are you not a big fan of pictures?" She asked.

"No, it's not that." He assured her. "I just…well all of my pictures were destroyed when Wayne Manor burned to the ground."

"Oh yeah." Lacy was starting to remember that. It had happened just a few months after she moved to Gotham. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up…"

"No, it's ok." He assured her. "I've made peace with it a long time ago. They were just possessions anyway. Memories are what really matter and I have plenty of those."

"Welcome back sir." Alfred greeted as he came into the room. He then saw Lacy and smiled. "Good afternoon."

"Hello." Lacy greeted.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Bruce laughed. "Lacy Williams, this is Alfred. He makes sure that I don't get into too much trouble."

"Kind of like a babysitter." Alfred added.

Lacy laughed. "I know some people who could use one of those."

"Will Miss Williams be joining you for lunch?" Alfred asked Bruce.

"Yes, I believe she will." Bruce replied.

"And please, call me Lacy." Lacy insisted.

"As you wish." Alfred nodded. "Lunch will be ready in a few minutes. I'll bring it out to the balcony for you."

"Thank you Alfred." Bruce called out as Alfred left the room. He then turned to Lacy and smiled. "Would you like to go on out to the balcony?"

"Sure." She agreed, following him outside. There was a nice table and chairs set up on the balcony. The table was already set with a nice dark blue tablecloth and a vase of two white carnations in the middle. He pulled out her chair for her and she looked at him hesitantly. It had been years since a man had held out a chair for her and she wasn't used to that anymore.

"Thank you for joining me for lunch." Bruce said as he sat down in a chair across the table from her. "I figured it was the least I could do since I practically begged you to come to the fundraiser with me, and look how well that turned out."

"It wasn't your fault that the Joker showed up." She assured him. "How could you have known that he would drop by?"

"That's nice of you to say, but I should've had better security." He looked off to the side, enjoying the view of skyscrapers. "I thought I had enough security, but obviously I was wrong."

She saw that his hands were resting on the table and put her hand on top of his. "I don't think it matters how much security you have. The Joker will find a way to get to you if he really wants to—at least that's the way I see it."

He was surprised when she touched his hands and looked over at her. "There's some truth in that statement. But I really am sorry about everything."

"You have no reason to be sorry." She told him, taking her hands back and placing them in her lap. "If anyone should be sorry, it's me."

"How do you figure that?" He questioned, curious about her statement.

She couldn't tell him the entire reason why it was her fault, but she could tell him this part. "You tried to pull me back to where the other guests were, and I wouldn't go. If I had just gone with you when you tried to make me then you wouldn't have gotten hurt. For that I am sorry."

"I'm not mad though." He pointed out. "And I wasn't hurt that badly. So why don't we call a moratorium on apologies since we appear to be even?"

"Sounds great." She smiled. They weren't even though. She was still carrying a lot more secrets that she would have to apologize for if he ever found out. If he found out about her connection to the Joker, the kindness that she had been receiving from him would disappear in a heartbeat.

"So if you don't mind me asking, why didn't you allow me to push you back with the other guests?" He asked after a few moments of silence.

She took a deep breath to figure out a response that would make sense. "I don't really know. I guess I was just in shock. I've never seen anything like that before and I wasn't thinking."

He nodded. That seemed like a good excuse. He was about to ask something else when Alfred arrived with a cart of food and drinks.

"Here you two are." Alfred smiled at them as he placed the plates in front of them and then poured their drinks. "Does anyone need anything before I go?"

"No, I don't think so." Bruce said, looking over at Lacy. "Do you need anything?"

"Nope." She replied. "I'm fine."

"Alright then." Alfred clapped his hands together. "Enjoy your meal."

"This looks delicious." Lacy smiled, looking down at the plates Alfred had placed in front of them. There was a salad with vegetables on it and then a grilled chicken sandwich.

"I'm glad. I wasn't sure exactly what you like to eat so I had to guess." Bruce chuckled.

"Well thanks. I appreciate that, but it wasn't necessary. I'm not a picky eater." She wasn't used to someone trying to make her happy. All the Joker ever wanted was his own happiness. He never really cared about what she wanted.

That was one of the reasons she enjoyed being around Bruce. He actually cared about her opinions, likes, and dislikes. She felt like he truly respected her. It wasn't until now that she realized all that she had missed over the past few years while being caught up in the Joker's web.

She missed having someone to cuddle up and watch movies with, she missed the simple act of going with someone to the grocery, but what she missed more than anything was having someone love her.

She's let the Joker take a lot from her. He's taken her body, her soul, her mind, and her heart. Maybe that should all change though. Maybe it was time to move on. She had been trying to move on for years now, but the Joker would always come back into her life and cloud everything. Maybe now that the Joker, supposedly, wasn't going to be visiting her anymore she could find a way to move on with her life.

Bruce noted that Lacy looked like she was deep in thought about something as she ate her salad. He wanted to ask her what she was thinking but knew she wouldn't tell him. It was harder to charm her than he thought it would be. Normally he had no trouble charming women. As part of his cover, he had to play his role of a billionaire playboy and he was good at the role.

But Lacy was completely different than the women he usually hung around. None of his surefire techniques had worked on getting her to trust him enough to share her secrets. Alfred had told him to be charming and creative, so that's what he was doing today. He was trying to be charming. It just wasn't working.

How was he supposed to stop the Joker from any more home invasion killings if he couldn't get Lacy to talk? He was certain that she had information which could help him. It was a gut feeling. He just had no way of getting that information from her.

Most of lunch was silent as they each spent a lot of time thinking about their own situations. "How is your food?" Bruce finally asked.

"Wonderful." Lacy smiled.

"Yeah. Alfred is a great cook." Bruce pointed out. "I don't know what I would do without him. He's really the only family I have left."

"It's nice that you have Alfred," Lacy commented, "and even nicer that you appreciate him. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a family."

"What about you?" He asked. "I haven't heard you mention anyone. No sisters, brothers?"

"No." She shook her head. "I don't have any family. I was an only child and my parents died shortly after I turned twenty-one. Both of my parents were only children too, so no aunts, uncles or cousins."

"I'm sorry." He told her. "It's hard without family."

"Yep." She gave him a small smile. "But it's like you said earlier, memories are what matter, and I have plenty of those."

He couldn't help but laugh softly at her using his words against him. He looked around at their surroundings. "It's a beautiful day."

"Definitely." She agreed, getting up from the table and walking over to the railing. She leaned against it and stared at the city. "Not a cloud in the sky."

He got up and followed her, leaning up against the railing next to her. He turned his head to look at her. "I've really been enjoying the time I've spent with you."

"So have I." She told him, not turning to face him.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked. "Cause it seems like I almost have to twist your arm to get you to do things with me. I always have to find reasons to convince you to spend time with me."

She turned to look at him. "I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mean to make you think that I don't like spending time with you. I just…by choice, I don't have a lot of friends. I used to have several close friends…"

"What changed?" He probed.

"A lot of things." She sighed. "I guess you could say that I shut myself off from the world. I didn't like being so far removed, but I thought it would be best for everyone."

"I'm afraid I don't understand." He was confused about why she thought closing herself off from society would be best for everyone. It didn't make any sense to him.

"No, I'm sure you don't." She chuckled. "Suffice it to say that I'm still a little leery of putting myself out there and forming relationships with people again. My hesitance to spend time with you has never been about you. It's been about me. I know that sounds like the cliché 'it's not you it's me' line, but in this case that actually is the truth."

He could tell by the look in her eyes that she had been hurt by someone in her life and that was contributing to why she shut herself away. But there was also something else in her eyes, something he couldn't quite recognize.

She continued. "I do like you. I think you're great. I just…"

"Well I'm glad you think I'm great because I think you're great." He told her as he continued to stare into her eyes. "So then it's settled that we are both great."

"I guess so." She nervously chuckled. Before she knew what was happening, she found herself starting to lean in towards him. She also noticed that he was doing the same thing. Everything was moving in what seemed like slow motion and she realized they would eventually kiss if something didn't stop them.

As if on cue, a loud explosion ripped through the air.

Lacy jumped back, startled by the loud noise. "What was that?"

He wasn't sure if she was referring to their almost kiss or the explosion—maybe both. He decided to focus on the explosion. He looked out and saw four distinct clouds of smoke forming in four places around the city. "Something's happening." He ran into the penthouse to turn on the television.

Lacy stayed behind for a moment, watching as the smoke started to pollute the beautiful blue skies. She instinctively knew the Joker was behind whatever was going on. With a resigned sigh she followed Bruce into the penthouse to see what news they could find on the explosions.


	17. Chapter 17

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks for all of the wonderful comments! Enjoy!

Chapter Seventeen

The Joker watched from the roof of a building near one of the structures he just blew up and smiled. His perceived his latest idea to be genius. He rigged explosives in four fire stations around Gotham, making sure that they would all detonate at the same time.

After he had pressed the button detonating all of them, he felt a surge of peace flow through him. He was no longer worried about the possibility that he would miss Lacy. As long as he stayed busy and kept his mind focused on how to best terrify Gotham an unmask Batman, he would be fine. Besides, Lacy won't be able to stay away for long.

He laughed when he thought about how lost she must be right now. She probably was sitting in her apartment wondering what to do now. Even if she tried to venture out into the world to make friends and have fun without him she wouldn't be able to do it. He had kept her away from the outside world for so long that she wouldn't know what to do with her newfound 'freedom'.

He shook his head, trying to get the thoughts of Lacy out. Instead, he would focus on the sights before him. A blanket of black smoke was coating the air as the fires burned through the fire stations. He had to laugh at the sights before him.

This was definitely one of his favorite ideas.

Proud of the chaos and destruction he had caused, he stuck his hands into his pockets and whistled as he left the rooftop.

* * *

"So what just happened?" Lacy asked Bruce as she joined him in front of the television.

"It looks like there were four different explosions." Bruce replied, keeping his eyes on the television report.

"The Joker?" She guessed.

"I would assume." Bruce sighed. "He's blown up four fire stations."

He thought about making up an excuse to get Alfred to take Lacy home and then slip away to the scene as Batman to help but wasn't sure what help he could be. The police would simply arrest him before he had a chance to do anything. That meant he had to stay behind and watch the news reports to find out what was going on.

Although she tried, she couldn't stifle the laugh that came when she heard that he blew up the fire stations. She saw the irony in the fact that the fire stations were on fire. It was a classic Joker scheme.

Bruce looked over at her, caught off guard by her laughter. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, really." She told him, ashamed of her laugh. The last thing she wanted was for Bruce to think that she thought it was funny that people could die. "I just find it ironic that the fire stations are on fire. There are other fire stations that can help but out the blaze though, right?"

"Yeah." Bruce answered, turning back to the television. "But it might take some time for them to get there." He turned up the volume on the television.

"_For those of you who are just now joining us, there have been four major explosions around Gotham. All four explosions happened at fire stations. There is no official information yet about any injuries or fatalities, but several sources are reporting that as many as twenty are wounded or dead. We are working on getting crews to the scenes and will be sure to update you as soon as we get more information."_

Bruce turned off the television and sighed. "This is tragic."

"Yes, it is." She agreed. "Really makes me wish Batman had taken care of the Joker when he had the chance."

He looked over at her with a curious look on her face. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, he should have killed the Joker instead of sending him to Arkham." Lacy replied. "It doesn't take a genius to realize that the Joker's not going to allow himself to be caged in at an asylum."

"I'm sure that Batman had his reasons for not killing the Joker." While he knew that Lacy believed he should have killed the Joker, it surprised him that she seemed so angry about the fact that he didn't. But maybe he shouldn't have been surprised by it because of the events from last night—not to mention the Joker's earlier attempt on her life.

"I'm sure he does too." She muttered. But he won't tell anyone what they are. She remembered asking Batman why he didn't kill the Joker and ended up not getting a clear answer.

"So are you one of those people who doesn't like Batman or believe in what he tries to stand for?" He had to know what her views on Batman were.

She sighed and stood up, walking over to the window and looking out at the darkened sky. The smoke had turned the entire sky black. "I don't really want to talk about Batman right now."

"Well I'm sorry, but I can't help but wonder what you have against Batman." He said, getting up and walking over to her.

"I don't think it's a question of liking Batman." After all, he did save her life. "I really have nothing against Batman. I don't even believe that he killed those cops."

"So then why do I get the feeling that you are angry with him?" He asked.

"Because I am angry with him." She told him, turning to face him. "Look, I believe he has tried to turn Gotham around, and in many ways, he's succeeded. But I still believe that his biggest mistake was not killing the Joker."

"That's just not the way Batman operates. He doesn't," he had to catch himself from revealing too much, "at least I don't think he believes in killing intentionally."

"No, I don't think he does either." She agreed, realizing that she wasn't really truly mad at Batman so much as she was mad at herself. Sure Batman could have killed the Joker and made her life and the lives of Gotham citizens better. But she could have done the same thing. There were many times after they had sex that she could have easily taken a knife and slit his throat or stabbed him in the heart. But she never did.

It was a bitter pill to swallow but she had to come to terms with the fact that she couldn't really be mad at Batman for not stopping the Joker when she did the same thing. She didn't want to be a hypocrite. She gave Bruce a small smile. "Look, can we just not talk about this please?"

"Sure." He returned her smile and reached out to touch her shoulder. He wanted to believe that her anger towards Batman was because of the Joker's attempt on her life and the events of the fundraiser, but he sensed that her anger went deeper than that.

She wasn't sure what to do when he touched her shoulder. In the panic of trying to find out about the explosions, she forgot what they were doing before that happened. They were about to kiss and she still wasn't sure how she felt about that.

She could count the number of guys she had kissed on her left hand, but she was sure Bruce would need a dump truck of hands to count how many women he had kissed. She had to wonder what he thought about the whole thing.

One minute they were talking about how much they enjoyed each other's company and then the next they were getting ready to kiss. Up until now she hadn't really thought about Bruce in any way other than just a friend. Thinking about him being anything more than that was scary for many reasons.

The first was of course the Joker. His whole 'you're free from me Lacy' attitude wasn't going to last forever. She was living on borrowed time right now and he would be extremely displeased if he knew what almost happened today. She based her assessment on the fact that he was beyond jealous of even the idea of her going on a date with Bruce, to the point where he had to show up and kill someone.

So that was one reason the almost kiss scared her. Another reason was the fact that she didn't exactly have experience in this type of thing. Jack was her first and only love and the only man she has ever seriously dated. There were a few guys she went on first dates with during a month-long breakup she and Jack had their junior year of high school, but that was years ago.

The third reason the kiss scared her was that she had no clue what kind of feelings she really had for Bruce. He was definitely attractive. There was no denying that fact. And he had a good heart. He never treated her badly; in fact, he has been nothing but nice to her ever since they met.

They got along well and enjoyed each other's company. Even though he was insanely rich and she definitely wasn't, they still had plenty in common. Up until now she thought that all she wanted him was friendship, but there was a small part of her that was extremely pissed off at the Joker for choosing that moment to detonate the bombs.

Another complication to her thoughts was the fact that Bruce was the next target of the Joker. She knew that it was only a matter of time before the Joker did another home invasion killing while looking for links to Batman, and she had verification that the next victim was going to be none other than Bruce.

And after the Joker comes knocking, she can't guarantee that he'll still be alive.

Bruce was too lost in his own thoughts to realize that Lacy was spacing out too. If it wasn't for the explosions the Joker planted, they would have kissed. That was something he did not expect to have happen.

Alfred suggested that he try to charm Lacy into filling him in on the missing information that he couldn't find in her background check, but he doubted almost kissing her was what his old friend had in mind. He wasn't even sure how it almost happened.

They were talking and then all of a sudden he felt compelled to kiss her. It was weird. He didn't even know that he had those types of feelings for her. He assumed that he only had friendly feelings for her and only wanted to be her friend.

She was attractive, just not in the way most of his other dates normally were. While those girls were blond and pencil thin, she was normal. She didn't wear skin-tight clothes and too much make-up. She didn't do the fake laughter at every joke that most people do around him and she could actually have an intelligent conversation with him. Now that he was actually entertaining the idea of more though, he realized that he wasn't against it.

But he would have to make sure she didn't have any involvement with the Joker first.


	18. Chapter 18

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who is reading and/or reviewing! Comments are very appreciated!

Chapter Eighteen

"Thanks for a wonderful afternoon. Aside from the fire station bombings, it was perfect." Lacy smiled at Bruce as they pulled up to her apartment building. He had insisted on driving her home because of the Joker bombings, even though she told him she would be ok.

"It was fun." He told her. "We should do it more often, minus the bombings."

"Definitely." She agreed. They had yet to discuss the almost kiss and it was driving her crazy. She wanted to know what his thoughts were on it, but was afraid to ask him.

He opened his mouth to ask her about the almost kiss that they had shared earlier but lost his nerve. He didn't want to make the moment weird by bringing it up and decided to wait until later to talk about it. That way he could have more time to think about what it meant to him.

"I guess I'll see you on Monday." She said, opening the car door and stepping out.

"Yeah." He replied with a smile. "Take care."

"You too." She closed the car door and watched him drive off.

* * *

"Do you think we should tell him about this?" Chip asked Dale as they watched Lacy get out of Bruce Wayne's car. They had watched her go to the police station and then straight over to Bruce Wayne's penthouse.

Although they didn't know what happened in the penthouse, they did know that she was up there for several hours. They could have been doing anything together.

"I don't want to be the one to tell the Joker." Dale put his hands up in a surrender pose. "If you want to, go ahead."

"His directives about what we tell him concerning her were extremely vague." Chip complained. "I have no idea if he wants to know about this kind of stuff."

Dale shook his head. "I don't think it's in our best interests to tell him, but that's just my opinion. This just seems like something that will set him off."

"Well I think he needs to know." Chip replied, pulling out his cell phone.

"What?" The Joker answered.

"Hey, it's Chip. Look, I thought you might want to know that after the girl went to the police station, she spent several hours at Bruce Wayne's penthouse."

"Really?" The Joker clenched his fists.

"Yeah. I know you said that we didn't have to report on everything she does, but I thought you might want to know about this." Chip explained.

"Thank you, Chip." The Joker managed to spit out with very little sarcasm. "Make sure you inform me anytime she does something with Mr. Wayne. Ok?"

"Sure thing, boss." Chip replied before the phone went dead.

The Joker slammed his phone down on the desk. Why was Lacy hanging out with Bruce Wayne? He didn't like that at all and wanted to go have a little chat with her about it. He was almost to the door when he realized he couldn't go see her.

"Damn." He cursed softly. "How am I supposed to let her know that I don't approve of this when I can't have contact with her?"

He took a few deep breaths and then returned to his desk. "Well if I can't visit Lacy to get her to leave Bruce alone, then I'll just have to step up my plans to visit Bruce Wayne. She won't want to visit a dead man."

* * *

That night, as Lacy lounged in her bubble-filled bath tub, she allowed herself to finally relax for the first time in over a week. After a couple of deep breaths she rested her head against the back of the tub and closed her eyes, letting her mind take her to what she hoped was a happier place.

It didn't take long for her mind to settle on a particular memory.

"_What are you doing?" Lacy screamed playfully as she was lifted into the air. _

"_I'm carrying you across the threshold." Jack told her, rearranging her into his arms and moving towards the open door of their apartment. _

"_This isn't necessary." She assured him. "I must weigh a ton by now." She was almost eight months pregnant and since they were saving every dime they made for the baby, they had just gotten married at the county courthouse instead of having a fancy wedding._

_But that was fine with her. She didn't really care how they got married as long as it meant that she got to spend the rest of her life with him by her side. _

"_You do not." Jack lied. It was difficult for him to pick her up but he wouldn't dare tell her that. He had learned over the past few months not to say the words heavy, big, huge, large, grande or any other synonym of those around her. _

_She laughed, knowing that he was just trying to be a gentleman. "I love you, you know that?" _

"_Well that's good to know since you just married me." He joked, kissing her forehead. He carried her into the bedroom and gently laid her down on the bed. Then he sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. "I hope you know how much I love you…how much I'll always love you." He put his hand on her enlarged stomach._

_She smiled and put her hand on top of his. "I do."_

"_And I'll always love you too, little one." He spoke to her stomach. _

"_You wanna come closer and maybe show me how much you love me?" She asked in a seductive tone._

_He grinned at her and nodded. "I think I can accommodate that request." _

Before her mind took her any further into that memory, she skipped forward a few years. Unfortunately this memory wasn't as happy as the previous one.

"_Why don't you just admit it? You blame me for what happened to our daughter!" Jack yelled across the room at Lacy. _

"_I don't blame you!" She tried to reassure him. "I don't understand why you feel that way. Have I done something or said something to make you think that?"_

_He laughed sarcastically. "You can barely bring yourself to look at me, yet along talk to me. So no, technically you haven't done or said anything to me to make me feel that way. Actually, this is the most time we've spent together in two months." _

"_I'm sorry about that. I really am." She apologized. "I've just been really busy with classes and…" _

"_You always have an excuse." He laughed again. "Why don't you try telling the truth for once?"_

"_What truth?" She asked. "I don't blame you for the car accident. I never have. It wasn't your fault."_

"_I just don't believe you." He sighed. "You know, I thought that once I took care of the guy who was driving the other car things would be different. I thought you would come around." _

"_What do you mean 'once you took care of him'?" She asked hesitantly. The guy who drove the other car in the accident that killed their daughter had been found dead in a nearby alley about two weeks ago._

"_Geez," he laughed, "Lacy, I thought you were really smart. Do I have to spell everything out for you?" _

"_No." She shook her head, hoping she was hearing him wrong. "No, Jack, tell me you didn't. Tell me you didn't have anything to do with his death. Please?" _

"_He needed to be punished and the courts weren't going to pursue criminal charges even though he killed our daughter!" Jack reasoned. _

_She put her hands over her ears, not wanting to hear anymore. "No, no, no. You couldn't have. No. It's not true." Her hands fell to her sides and she shook her head. "Tell me you're kidding. Please? Tell me that this is just a really bad joke." _

"_I can't do that." He told her. When he noticed the horrified look on her face he laughed. "What else was I supposed to do? Justice had to be doled out to him. Our daughter deserved justice." _

_She closed the gap between them and slapped him across the side of his face. "Don't you dare say that you killed that man for our daughter. You killed him because you wanted revenge. That's all that was." _

_He grabbed her wrist and held on tightly. "He needed to be punished, and so that's what I did. That's what I'm going to do for others. It's my gift to the world." _

"_What's happening to you?" She asked, horrified by the man in front of her. "You're not this kind of person. What's wrong?" _

"_You wanna know what's wrong?" He laughed. "My daughter's dead and my loving wife doesn't look at me the same way anymore. That's what is wrong."_

_She sighed and pulled her wrist out of his grasp. "Ok. You want me to admit it? I'll admit it. I have been distant lately, but it's not because I don't love you and it's not because I think the accident was your fault." _

_She rubbed her wrist, certain that his tight grasp was going to leave a bruise. "I blame myself. You two wouldn't have been on that road that night if it wasn't for me. I guess I should've tried talking to you about it but I didn't know how."_

_Ever since Alexis' death he had been acting distant and growing more and more depressed. She should have helped him out more but she was so consumed with her own paint at she just assumed he would be ok._

_She knew now that he needed professional help, even if it meant that he could go to prison for murder. The only question was how to get him to see that. "Maybe we can still salvage this. I still love you and you still love me. So maybe we can find a way to work through this together?" _

_He clapped his hands and smiled. "That was a good performance Lacy. You almost had me fooled. But you just want to send me away."_

"_That's not true." She lied. _

"_Oh yes it is." He nodded. "I know these kinds of things. Call it a sixth sense." _

"_I just don't want you to kill anyone again." She replied. "Please, promise me that you won't kill again."_

"_Well you see, I can't promise that." He laughed. "The world seems to have forgotten all about justice. But I'm going to fix it. I'm going to make sure that everyone who is a victim gets justice." _

"_I can't let you do that." She boldly told him. "I love you too much to let you do this." _

_He simply laughed in her face. "You don't have the guts to anything about this and you never will."_

Her eyes immediately opened and her pulse quickened as she thought about that night. It was the first night that she realized Jack was changing right in front of her eyes. Maybe if she had paid more attention to him instead of losing herself in her own grief and guilt over Alexis' death things would be different.

Maybe then Jack wouldn't have turned into the Joker and he wouldn't have ruined so many people's lives.

It was pointless to think that way though because she couldn't go back and change the past. His words still rang in her head. _You don't have the guts to do anything about this and you never will._ He was right that she didn't have the guts to do anything about him then, but she was starting to realize that she needed to do something.

It was becoming painfully obvious to her that Batman wasn't going to do what was necessary to stop the Joker. So that left few options. She wasn't sure what she was going to do about the Joker, but knew that she had to do something.


	19. Chapter 19

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has been reading and/or reviewing this story! I love knowing that people are enjoying the story!

Chapter Nineteen

When Monday morning arrived, Lacy had several people coming into her office asking how she was doing. The media had been covering the stories about the Joker's appearance at the fundraiser, his latest murder of Benjamin Newman and the explosions at the fire stations practically nonstop all weekend. Since her co-workers knew that she was at the fundraiser with Bruce Wayne they kept asking her questions about the Joker and what happened at the fundraiser.

Ramona asked the most questions, wanting to know seemingly everything about the Joker's mannerisms and actions. Lacy counted and it turned out that Ramona asked more questions than the police. She seemed almost obsessed with the Joker and Lacy would've thought it was cute if Ramona's attention was directed at anyone other than the Joker.

Although she could have answered her co-workers' questions without a second thought, she pretended not to have paid much attention to the Joker. It was easier for her that way.

She grabbed a couple of file folders from her desk and shoved them into her briefcase, happy to be able to get away from the office for awhile. It was her hope that she could escape the prying eyes here in her own office while focusing on Wayne Enterprises. She picked up her briefcase and went to open the door, only to find Chris on the other side.

"Whoa!" She exclaimed with a chuckle. "You scared me."

"Sorry, didn't mean to." Chris apologized. "Were you going somewhere?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I have some meetings and things to take care of over at Wayne Enterprises. Why? Do you need something?"

"Actually, I was hoping we could talk for a moment." He told her. "It's about what we talked about a few days ago."

"Oh." She now understood that he wanted to talk about the Joker. "Come in. I can talk for a few minutes."

He entered the office and closed the door, choosing to lean against it. "First of all, I wanted to see how you were doing after the excitement at the fundraiser. I know that the Joker is one of your least favorite people in the world."

"You have no idea." She muttered under her breath.

"So how are you?" He asked.

"I'm fine." She lied. "Thank you for asking. I wish everyone would stop asking me if I'm fine. It's sweet, but unnecessary. The Joker didn't do anything to me."

"Ok. Well if you want to talk about it, just let me know." He offered.

"Thanks." She smiled. "What else did you want to talk about?"

"Well, the thing is, don't you think it's weird that the Joker showed up at the fundraiser where you were? Do you think he knows that I told you everything?" He realized he might be acting paranoid.

She wasn't sure how to answer because yes, the Joker did know that Chris had told her his secret. But she couldn't tell Chris that because it would only raise more questions. She decided to lie. "No, I don't think so. If he thought that I knew his plans or your involvement, he would have killed me at the fundraiser. But he didn't so I think we're ok."

"Oh." He sighed in relief.

"Anything else?" She asked, wanting to get out of the building and focus on something other than the Joker for awhile.

"Just one more thing." He pulled a key out of his pocket. "I want to give you this."

"What is it?" She asked as she took the key and examined it.

"It's a key to a locker that I have at the train station. It's where I keep my more personal belongings that I don't want others to know about." He explained.

"Why are you giving me a key to that?" She didn't understand.

"I'm not dumb." He told her. "I realize that I've gotten in way over my head here and my time left on Earth could very well be limited. I would feel better if you had access to my stuff."

"I…" She wanted to protest this but he cut her off.

"Now before you say anything, hear me out." He interrupted, figuring that she would have questions about why he was trusting her with this. "All the money is in there because I don't trust banks. If I'm gone, I want you to do something good with the money. Donate it to charity or something. I don't care what you do with it. I just want it to go to a good cause."

He sighed. "I trust you Lacy. You've been a good friend to me and you're pretty much the only person I would even think about trusting with this kind of responsibility. Will you please do this for me?"

"Alright." She agreed. She didn't want to think about Chris dying, but it was definitely something that could happen. The Joker already knew that Chris told her his role everything. It probably was only a matter of time before the Joker decided Chris was a liability that he couldn't afford.

He was relieved and gave her a huge smile. "Thank you Lacy. You have no idea what this means to me."

"Let's hope I never have to use this key." She smiled back.

"Yeah." Chris nodded. "I guess I will let you get going. Talk to you later?"

"Sure." Lacy replied as she watched him leave her office.

* * *

Lacy walked down the hallway of Wayne Enterprises, engrossed completely in the file she was reading. She had been working on the Wayne Enterprises account for a week now and estimated that it was going to take at least another week and a half to get everything completed, and that was if she worked around the clock.

She wasn't sure why she was working so hard to get the job done quickly. She was aware that the Joker would be making his move on Bruce, most likely doing it while she was still working the account.

Since it was so late, it seemed like everyone except the maintenance staff had gone home for the night. It was so quiet in the building that she could almost hear the sounds from the traffic even though she was twenty-five stories above it. This was the type of work environment she craved. She wasn't thrilled with a crowded building filled with people constantly pulling her in different directions. There was something calming and soothing about the peace and quiet.

She was carrying about ten file folders and she had the top one open so she could read it while she was walking. Before she knew what was happening, she ran into someone. "I'm so sorry," she apologized. "I thought everyone else was gone for the day…" She looked up and saw that she had just run into Bruce. "Sorry."

"That's ok." He smiled, bending down to pick up her papers. He gathered them up and handed them back to her.

It was the first time she had seen him since the almost kiss on Saturday. "So how is your head?" She asked, pointing to the bruise on his forehead.

"It's much better, just looks worse than it is."

"And your ribs?" She inquired.

"Good as new." He smiled again. "How are you?"

"Fine." She assured him.

He was surprised that she was still here. "What are you doing here so late?"

"Working." She replied. "I like staying late and getting work done when it's quiet."

"Well, it's nice to know that you're working hard." He smiled.

She laughed. "Yeah, I'm probably working too hard."

He took that as a signal that he could get her to possible to go out somewhere with him and he could learn more about her and her company. He had devised another plan to get her to feel more comfortable with him and thought maybe tonight would be a good time to implement it. "I have the perfect cure for working too hard."

"Oh yeah?" She put her hand on her hip. "You seem to have a perfect cure for a lot of things. First there was the incredible cup of coffee and now this. I'm intrigued. What's your perfect cure for working too hard?"

"Why don't we go get some dinner?" He suggested. "I haven't eaten yet and I assume you haven't either?"

"You're right. I haven't eaten." She answered. "But I don't think…"

"I promise it's not a date." He assured her, not wanting to give her the wrong impression, especially after their almost kiss on Saturday. They still hadn't talked about what that meant. "We would just be two friends getting something to eat. Besides, I don't like to eat alone. You'd be doing me a huge favor."

She sighed. He wasn't going to give up on this. She could tell. If the Joker didn't like the idea of her going to a fundraiser with Bruce, he definitely wouldn't like it if she went out to dinner with him too-even though it wouldn't be a date.

Even though the Joker said he wouldn't be following her around and interfering in her life, she still wasn't convinced and didn't want to test it in public yet. "How about a compromise?"

"Ok." He nodded. "I'm open to compromises."

"How about we stay here and order in take-out?" She suggested. "I was going to have to meet with you tomorrow anyway, so why don't we just meet now?"

"Fair enough." He nodded, motioning for her to follow him back to his office. "Why don't we go to my office?"

"Ok." She followed him down a couple of hallways until they reached his corner office. Upon entering, she realized that he likely didn't spend much time at work. There were no pictures or personal items on the dark mahogany desk or bookcases.

It was a large office, probably about three times as big as hers. Everything in the office was tidy. The thing that really stood out to her was the view.

He had two walls that were windows which looked out across Gotham City. She sat her files on a chair and walked over to the windows, admiring the view.

"You can see almost all of Gotham from here." Bruce told her as he stood behind her.

"It's nice." She commented. Looking out over Gotham, she found a sense of peace. It was almost as if she could pretend that the Joker didn't exist and that the past few years never happened.

"What would you like to have for dinner?" He asked, breaking the spell his office view had on her.

"I don't care." She shook her head and looked over at him. "How about pizza?"

"Sure." He agreed. "What's your favorite kind?"

"Pepperoni, sausage and ham. But I'll eat any kind of pizza so just get whatever you want." She told him as she went back to the chair that she put her folders. She waited for him to order the pizza before talking to him again.

"You don't spend much time here, do you?" She asked, sitting down.

He laughed nervously. "No. I don't. Normally I don't need to." He sat down in his chair. "I trust Lucius and he does a wonderful job of taking care of this company."

"If you don't mind me asking, why aren't you playing a larger role in your families' business?"

"I just don't like to sit in an office all day long. I prefer…," he tried to think of a way to describe his Batman activities, "more hands-on types of activities."

"I see." She nodded.

"Do you like your job?" He asked, trying to shift the focus away from him and onto her company.

She laughed. "Most days."

"That's good." He laughed with her. "You don't work for a company that's so evil or unethical that it makes you want to quit?"

"No, not really." She lied, shaking her head. "And I'm glad. I've seen enough evil for my lifetime." She was still having a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that her bosses were helping the Joker, although she couldn't blame them entirely. They were being blackmailed by the Joker and she understood how persuasive he could be. That still didn't excuse them though.

Out of curiosity he found himself asking, "what kind of evil have you seen?"

She thought about opening up to him about certain things, thinking that maybe he wouldn't judge her. She saw parts of herself reflected in him, almost like they were more similar than they realized. But she decided against it. "Trust me Bruce, you don't want to hear my sob stories."

"I do if you ever want to share them." He told her. The more time he spends around Lacy the more he got the feeling that she was the key to figuring out Ace Consulting's role in the Joker's machinations. He couldn't explain it. It was just a gut feeling that she was the key to stopping the Joker.


	20. Chapter 20

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Twenty

Two hours later, after lots of pizza and several beers, Bruce and Lacy were sitting on the floor. They were leaning against his desk and looking out the window. They had already discussed the business items Lacy needed clarification on.

Bruce had made sure they got the business part out of the way early before they started drinking and now the conversation had turned personal. He figured that if he got her a little drunk she might feel more comfortable letting him into her mind and telling him about her past. Perhaps he could even get her to spill any secrets she had about the Joker.

He also thought she might feel more comfortable sharing with him if he shared with her. So Bruce had told her about his parent's death and how he still sometimes blamed himself for their senseless murders. Now he was talking about his childhood friend, Rachel, and Harvey Dents' deaths. He could tell that this conversation made Lacy very uncomfortable but wasn't sure why.

"Besides Alfred, Rachel was really the only one that I always knew without a doubt truly cared about me and not my money or power." Bruce explained. He had told Lacy things he normally didn't tell anyone, but left out the parts about how much he loved Rachel. Some things were better to keep as secrets.

"You loved her, didn't you?" Lacy asked, squinting her eyes as she looked at his face.

"What? No." He denied half-heartedly. "What makes you say that?"

"Your face and the way you talk about her." She explained. "You can easily tell when someone is in love because when they talk about that person, their eyes light up. Yours did that when you mentioned her."

"It doesn't mean anything." He shrugged. "Besides, that ship has sailed and there's nothing I can do about it now."

"I'm really sorry for your loss." She told him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder for a moment and feeling incredibly guilty. Lacy couldn't help but think that Rachel would still be alive if she had gone to the police about the Joker when he first started to change. But instead, she had been enabling him by keeping his secrets. And it has eaten her soul.

"So, now that you know more about me, tell me about yourself." He said, opening up another beer for them and handing Lacy hers. "You said something earlier about seeing a lot of evil in your lifetime. What kind of evil?"

For some strange reason, possibly induced by the amount of beer they had been drinking, they were feeling comfortable telling each other about their personal tragedies. Lacy wasn't sure she should say anything about her own personal tragedies. After taking a swig of beer, she realized she could tell Bruce half of the story and not give anything away about the Joker's true identity or her involvement with him. "Oh boy. Where to start."

She waited a few seconds before beginning with the story. "Well I guess I can start by telling you something that no one else really knows. You already know about my daughter, Alexis, but what you don't know is that I was also married."

"Was?" Bruce asked, making sure he heard correctly. He had seen that in her background file but there wasn't much mentioned about her husband. In fact, it was very difficult to find any information on her husband. He could only find out the guys name and thought that was weird.

"Was." She repeated. "I married my best friend, Jack. We grew up together and did everything together. I thought he was the nicest guy in the world, which was surprising given the fact that his mother died when he was eight and his father died when he was sixteen."

"How did his parents die?" Bruce asked out of curiosity.

"His mother died of ovarian cancer. It broke his father's heart and he turned to alcohol to soothe the pain. Unfortunately alcohol made his bad temper worse and so he started using Jack as a punching bag."

"That's horrible." Bruce commented.

"Yeah." She agreed. "His father was killed one night outside of a bar by a mugger."

At the time, she thought it was amazing that Jack managed to get through his rough childhood and adolescence without any major scars—emotional or physical. But when he started to adopt his Joker persona full-time, she realized that there had been previous occasions where the Joker had made appearances in Jack's life.

_Lacy was in the kitchen, paying some bills when Jack came into and sat down across from her. "What?" She asked in an annoyed tone. _

"_Just wanted to say hi." He smiled, waving at her. "Hi!"_

"_Hi." She replied, not wanting to be bothered. She wasn't happy with him after the stunt he had pulled the night before. She got up this morning and saw the headlines of the newspaper, immediately knowing that it was the work of her husband. The brakes on the car of a man who _

_had robbed a local liquor store and killed the old man working inside were cut. The guy died when his car smashed into a tree at 40 miles per hour. _

"_So it occurred to me that I never told you what really happened to my dear old dad." He said, absentmindedly tracing imaginary patterns on the table with his fingernail._

"_I know what happened to your father." She told him. "He was mugged and the guys who mugged him slashed his throat."_

"_Nope." He laughed. "That's not what really happened. That's what I made it look like to cover my tracks." _

"_No." She laughed nervously. "You didn't…you couldn't have…right? You were only sixteen."_

"_Sixteen is still old enough to dole out some justice." He explained. "I took care of daddy dearest. I got tired of him drinking and then coming home to beat on me. It wasn't nice and he needed to be punished for it." _

_She didn't know what to say to that. How could he do something like that? How could she not notice that he was troubled? She never, ever had any clue that he had killed his father. Was she just blind or was she married to a criminal mastermind? She got up from the table and moved to leave the kitchen but he raced in front of her and blocked her path. _

"_You want to know what he said right before I brought the blade across his throat?" He asked with a smile on his face.  
_

"_No." She answered honestly. "No I don't."_

_He ignored her answer and told her anyway. "He said 'you are crazy. I should have beaten you to death when I had the chance.' And I said 'yeah, you should've.'" He traced his fingernail across her neck. "Then I slit his throat from one side to the other."_

_She closed her eyes, not wanting him to see the tears that were forming in her eyes._

"_You know he deserved it." He told her. "You saw the bruises he would leave on me. You know how many times I couldn't go to school because I had cuts I couldn't hide. You know how many times I had to wear long sleeves in ninety degree weather so others wouldn't see the bruises."_

"_I know, but that still doesn't excuse your behavior." She whispered softly as a single tear ran down her cheek._

"_I'm not trying to excuse my behavior." He explained, gently brushing the tear off her cheek. _

"_Why did you tell me this? Why now?" She asked, searching his eyes for answers. _

"_Because I thought that we should be completely honest with each other." He laughed. "After all, isn't that what married people do? Don't they tell each other everything?"_

She shook herself out of her reverie and continued on with her story. "Like I said before, Jack and I knew each other since we were in diapers. He lived right down the street from my house. We officially started dating in the seventh grade and never really seriously dated anyone else. Then I ended up getting pregnant right before our high school graduation."

"Wow." Bruce wasn't expecting that.

She hoped he wouldn't judge her too harshly for being a teenage mother but wasn't ashamed of it. Alexis was the best present she ever received. "It wasn't great timing, but we made it work. We were going to wait a few years after graduating high school to get married so that we could go to college first, but the baby kind of changed our plans. We got married, got jobs and started to raise our little girl."

Lacy's face lit up like a firecracker on the Fourth of July while talking about her child. "As you know, we named her Alexis. She was amazing and such a good baby. Except for a bout of colic, she had a very calm personality and never made much fuss. She was so smart that we thought she would end up being a CEO or a lawyer. But everything changed right before her fourth birthday."

"I had gone back to college and was getting my degree. Jack was bringing her to see me one night," Lacy continued, "because I was studying in the library for finals and hadn't seen them much that week. He also brought dinner so that we could eat as a family."

"It was so cute. He brought food in a picnic basket and we had dinner right there in the reference section of the library." She lost herself in the memory of that night for a few seconds, desperately trying to cling to the happy memory.

After a few seconds, the smile that had been on her face slowly turned to a look of devastation. "On their way home from dinner, their car got slammed by a drunk driver. It was on the passenger side where Alexis' car seat was sitting. She didn't stand a chance and died on the scene. Thankfully she didn't feel a thing, or at least that's what the paramedics and doctors told me."

"What about Jack?" Bruce asked when Lacy didn't mention anything about him.

"Physically, he was fine. He just had a few cuts and bruises." She explained as she wiped away a few tears from her cheeks. "Emotionally and mentally, he wasn't so lucky. He really changed after the accident. He became extremely withdrawn and irritable. Nothing made him happy anymore and his only thought was how to get revenge against the drunk driver. He was obsessed with how to get this guy to pay for his crimes. He was consumed by his thoughts of vigilante justice."

"I should've been able to help him, but I was too caught up in my own pain and guilt to even recognize he needed me until it was too late. Once I realized he needed help, I tried to help him, but there was nothing I could do. He was too far gone already. Everything I tried just made things worse." She lamented. "About a year after Alexis' death he killed himself." She felt bad about lying to him about Jack, but soothed her conscience by rationalizing that it was still a half-truth.

The Joker did, in essence, kill Jack.

"I'm sorry." Bruce softly told her. "That's got to be rough. I can only imagine how hard it would be to lose a child like that, and then to lose your husband…I don't know what else to say other than I'm sorry."

Lacy stood up and walked up to the window. "It's incredibly hard to watch someone you love slowly die inside until they are just a shell of who they were before. It breaks your heart."

"I imagine it does." He agreed.

She took a deep breath and resolved not to think about this anymore tonight. She picked up her full beer and drank almost the entire thing in one swig. "I don't really want to talk about sad stories anymore."

"Ok. What should we talk about then?" Bruce asked. Although he had drunk the same amount of beer as Lacy, he wasn't nearly as drunk as she was. He had tried to do that on purpose so he could steer the conversation towards her job, although somehow they had gotten sidetracked. Now hopefully they could talk about Ace Consulting.

"I don't care." She exclaimed. She was beginning to think that maybe drinking so much beer wasn't such a good idea. Normally she could drink a lot of wine without feeling many of the effects, but it seemed that beer was a different story. She seemed to have a lower tolerance for beer.


	21. Chapter 21

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: I really appreciate knowing that there are people enjoying this story! Also, please don't hesitate to review this story, even if you just want to criticize it. I welcome all opinions/comments. Enjoy!!

Chapter Twenty-One

Chip and Dale sat in a little café close to Wayne Enterprises. They had been watching Lacy all day and now were in the café getting something to eat, but they made sure to sit by the window so that they could see if she left. They were the only customers in the place and the employees were all in the kitchen, laughing and joking with each other.

Chip put a packet of sugar into his coffee and stirred it with his spoon. "She's been at work for a long time. It makes me wonder if she's ever going to go home."

"I know." Dale agreed. "She really likes to work late."

"You know, Bruce Wayne is still up there too." Chip pointed out.

Dale laughed. "What are you implying?"

"Nothing." Chip explained. "I'm just saying that they have been spending a lot of time together lately and now they are both working late." He made sure to make air quotation marks with his hands when he said 'working late'.

"Maybe they are just friends." Dale suggested.

"Perhaps." Chip laughed. "But I don't think the Joker's happy about the amount of time his girlfriend spends with Bruce Wayne."

"Oh man, not this again!" Dale threw his napkin onto the table. "Do I really have to hear your theory about how the Joker and this girl are involved in some kind of forbidden love affair?"

"Look at the facts." Chip commanded. "He is almost obsessed about us giving him updates on what she's doing, where she's going, and who she's with. He's put cameras up in her apartment, and he's visited her apartment too many times for me to even count. What other conclusion should I draw from it?"

"I don't want to hear it anymore." Dale told his friend. "Until you can get solid proof about them having a relationship, I don't want to hear your theories anymore. Understand?"

"Fine." Chip sulked.

"Thank you!" Dale exclaimed.

"No problem." Chip rolled his eyes. He looked out the window and saw that there was a dark green car parked down the street. He vaguely remembered seeing a car similar to that hanging around earlier. "Hey, have you noticed a dark green car hanging around all day today?"

"A dark green car?" Dale asked. "No, don't think so."

"Really?" Chip asked. "I might be paranoid, but I could have sworn that I saw that dark green car over at Acer Consulting and then again here at Wayne Enterprises."

Dale laughed. "You think someone else is tailing her?"

"Well, yeah." Chip replied. "You don't think the Joker sent other guys to do this job, do you?"

"Why would he?" Dale asked. "We've done a good job."

"Yeah but he isn't exactly the most rational person in the world." Chip reminded his friend. "He's been known to kill his employees for no reason at all except his own personal enjoyment."

"That's true." Dale sighed. "I just don't see why he would assign other guys to follow her. He seems to trust us."

"Maybe we should ask him the next time we check in." Chip suggested.

"I'll leave that up to you my friend." Dale laughed. There was no way he was going to bring that up to the Joker. "But we should get back to the parking garage in case Lacy decides to leave."

"Yeah." Chip agreed, taking another sip of his coffee before following Dale out of the diner. He couldn't shake the feeling that the dark green car was also trailing Lacy. But if it wasn't another group of the Joker's men, who could it be?

* * *

Lacy took another long drink of what she figured must have been her fifth or sixth beer. It might have been her seventh though, she could have lost count. When they started drinking she vowed to only have a couple beers because she didn't want to get drunk. But then Bruce started talking about his past and when she realized that he had loved Rachel she felt so guilty. The only way she could deal with the guilt without confessing was to drink.

She suddenly realized that she never gave Bruce an answer about what they should talk about. "Why don't we talk about the kiss we almost shared this weekend?"

"Ok." He replied. While he did want to talk about it, he also wanted to talk about her company. "What about it?"

"What was up with that? I mean, honestly." She asked, aware that she was beginning to lose the inner filter she normally had which kept her from saying whatever popped into her mind. The alcohol must be doing that.

She laughed. "I mean, one minute we're talking and then we almost kiss. If the Joker hadn't blown up those buildings, who knows what we would have done."

"I don't know what happened." Bruce told her. "But I do know that I didn't invite you to lunch in order to make a move on you."

"And I certainly didn't go to lunch with you to have the moves put on me." She laughed again. "So are we friends or something else? What's going on with us?"

"Honestly, I don't know." He replied. Maybe this wasn't the best conversation to have while she was drunk. She probably wasn't going to remember most of it in the morning.

"Cause I can tell that you still love Rachel and, god only knows why but, I still love Jack. And you know what?" She laughed yet again. "I wake up everyday praying that I will stop loving him, but it never happens. I am in love with a man that doesn't exist anymore, and might never have really ever existed."

She leaned in closer to him. "As much as I love him though, I'm not in love with him anymore. I hate him. I hate him so much that I can't even see straight sometimes. You wanna know why I have a love/hate relationship with him?"

"That's not really any of my business." He replied. He figured that she said she hates her deceased husband because he chose to kill himself instead of trying to get help. That's the only reason he could think of for her to hate him. It seemed like a fairly normal reaction to the situation in his opinion.

"Have you ever had someone torment you to the point where you feel like you've lost your mind?" She took another sip of beer. "I mean, really have someone mentally and emotionally just beat you down until you just want to scream? But then you realize you can't scream because there's no one around to understand or help you."

He was beginning to think that she had drunk enough beer for the evening and that he should but off her alcohol intake. They had been drinking for about three hours now and thankfully she ate a lot of pizza. A full stomach would help her stomach absorb some of the alcohol faster. He reached for her beer. "I think you've had enough for tonight."

She moved her beer out of his grasp. "No. I haven't had too much because I still remember him."

He decided to let her finish the beer that was in her hand but then he was going to keep her from drinking any more.

She took another long drink of her beer. "You though, I must say you have been amazing."

He laughed. "Amazing? Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, you have been so incredibly nice to me even though I totally don't deserve it. But you have just been great. In fact, you kind of remind me of Jack in a few ways—at least the Jack that I fell in love with, not the Jack that Jack actually was or turned into." She stopped for a moment. "Does that even make sense?"

"I understand it." He assured her, even though he really didn't. "You know, you remind me of Rachel in a few ways." He couldn't understand why she would think that she didn't deserve his kindness. He thought that she was a good person. "Maybe that's why we almost kissed. Maybe we see the past in each other and that's what the almost kiss was about."

"Maybe." She shrugged her shoulders, not sure she wanted to talk about it anymore. "You know, you really picked the wrong consulting firm for this job."

Her sudden change of conversation confused him for a second but he quickly recovered. He was glad they were finally talking about what he wanted to talk about all night. "Really? Why would you say that?"

She laughed and took another drink of her beer. "Well I don't know if you realize it, but all of the victims of the Joker's home invasions have been former clients of ours." She looked all around before leaning in even closer and whispering, "I wouldn't be surprised if you're next."

He did know that all of the victims were former clients of her company. "Why would you say I could be next?" He whispered, deciding to play dumb to try and get more information from her.

"Well you're rich, you're in charge of a large company in Gotham, and you're one of our clients. That means you fit the profile of people the Joker is targeting." She explained. "So I would be careful if I were you. I don't want to see you end up dead."

"I'll be careful." He promised her.

"I don't know if the police know about the connection between all the victims. They aren't exactly the smartest."

"The commissioner seems intelligent." Bruce pointed out.

"Gordon?" She asked, thinking back to her meeting with him. She didn't have anything against him; she just didn't like that he was asking her so many questions. "He's ok I guess. Anyways, if they do about the connection, then they sure aren't doing anything about it. You would think that they would be interrogating people at the office but they aren't. They probably should though."

"Who should they interrogate?" He asked, hoping for any kind of lead.

"Do you ever think about redecorating this office?" She asked out of the blue.

He could tell that she was definitely drunk now because she was having problems keeping up a conversation with him. "No. I like this room the way it is. Now who would…"

"I think it would look good if you painted the walls a different color. Maybe put some bright colors." She suggested.

"I'll keep that in mind." He told her. "Now Lacy, who should the police interrogate?"

"Huh?" She asked. Then she remembered what they had been talking about. "Oh. How about the guys in charge? They are the ones who would know what's going on, if anything is going on."

She tried to take another drink of her beer but was saddened to find that there was none left. "It's all gone." She pouted.

"Yes, it's all gone." He consoled her as he took the empty bottle away from her. "You know, I should get you home."

He was starting to realize that it wasn't right to help her get this drunk. Maybe he should let her crash in the guest room at his penthouse so that he can keep an eye on her and make sure that she is alright in the morning instead of leaving her alone in her apartment. He would hate for anything to happen to her.

He picked up the phone and called Alfred to come and pick them up because neither of them should be driving right now. Although Bruce didn't feel drunk, he had several beers and it wouldn't be responsible for him to drive like that.

"Why do I have to go home?" She asked. "I'm not tired yet."

"No," he laughed. "I bet you're not. But you will be very soon once the effects of the alcohol wear off."

She stood up, only to stumble. She would have fallen if Bruce hadn't caught her before she hit the ground. "Whoa. The floor isn't very stable."

He had to laugh. "Yeah. It's the floor that isn't stable. Do you think you will be able to walk?"

"Sure!" She exclaimed. She took a few steps and almost fell down again. But Bruce caught her again. "Ok, maybe not. You really should have this floor checked out. It's dangerous."

"I will." He assured her. He picked up her purse and handed it to her before he picked her up and carried her. He figured it would just be easier to carry her down to the car instead of having to help her walk.

"You smell good," she told him as her nose inhaled his scent, "and you're really strong."

"Thank you." He laughed, reminding himself that she was drunk and would probably be embarrassed by the things she said tonight—if she remembered them.

Alfred was already in the parking garage when Bruce came out with Lacy in his arms.

"Hello Alfred!" Lacy smiled widely and waved.

"Hello Miss Williams." Alfred replied as he opened up the door to the backseat. "What happened to her?"

"I took your advice to be charming." Bruce replied. Lacy was slipping in and out of sleep. He gently placed her in the back seat.

"I told you to get her drunk?" Alfred laughed. "I think not. I don't remember advising that."

Bruce had to laugh too. "Ok, so maybe I went about it a different way than you suggested, but it worked."

"Well I'm glad to hear that." Alfred replied, going back to the driver's seat. "Am I taking her back to her place?"

"No." Bruce said as he got into the back seat with Lacy and propped her up against his shoulder. "We're taking her home with us." He saw Alfred raise his eyebrow in a disapproving manner. "She'll be sleeping this off in a guest room."

"I would hope so." Alfred said as he started to drive.

* * *

Chip and Dale had followed Bruce's car once it left the parking garage and were surprised to see that it didn't take Lacy back to her apartment. "Oh the boss isn't going to like this." Chip said as he saw Bruce Wayne and another man help Lacy in to Bruce's building.

"I don't envy you." Dale laughed.

"Why?" Chip asked, confused.

"Because it's your turn to call the Joker and check in." Dale continued to laugh. "So you're gonna have to be the one to tell him about this."

"Great." Chip rolled his eyes. He had also noticed that the dark green car had followed them to Bruce's penthouse. This next call to the Joker wasn't going to be fun.


	22. Chapter 22

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks for the comments about this story! Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Two

Bruce carried Lacy into a guest room and gently laid her on the bed. He then took off her shoes and pulled back the covers, careful not to wake her up. She had been dozing on and off on the short car ride to his penthouse and he hoped that she would stay asleep. Sleep would help her the most right now because she was likely going to have a bad hangover tomorrow.

He felt really bad about getting her this drunk. That was never his intention. He just wanted to make her feel more comfortable and hopefully get her to tell him the information he wanted. And while he did get some good information from her, he still felt guilty about his methods.

He covered her with the blanket and sat on the side of the bed next to her. He brushed a piece of hair from her face, which unfortunately caused her to stir.

Her eyes fluttered quickly, opening and closing several times. She looked over and could have sworn that she was seeing Jack sitting on the bed next to her. He didn't have the scars or the makeup on and he was smiling at her.

She smiled back, hoping this wasn't a dream.

"Ssh, just close your eyes now?" Bruce tried to tell her, bending down to readjust the blankets.

She didn't want to go to sleep but felt so incredibly tired that she knew it was only a matter of seconds before she succumbed. So without hesitation, she leaned forward. Placing her hands on both sides of his face, she gently pressed her lips to his.

Bruce was beyond surprised by this action, especially since she was using her tongue, but realized that he shouldn't read anything into it since she was drunk. He chalked it up to just another thing she would regret when she sobered up in the morning. He tried to push her away, but she held on to him tightly. It felt like minutes went by before he finally managed to gently break the grasp she had on him and helped her head meet with the pillow again.

She sighed softly and immediately closed her eyes. "It's much better without the makeup. You should take it off more often." She whispered before drifting back into her slumber.

He pulled the blankets back over her for a third time and wondered what she meant by that last comment. 'It's much better without the makeup. You should take it off more often.' It was a weird thing for her to say and he didn't fully understand it.

He quietly left the room, grabbing his computer and going to the kitchen. Alfred was sitting at the table eating so he sat across from him and sat his computer down.

"So what did you learn from her tonight?" Alfred asked.

"Several things." Bruce replied, typing on the laptop. "Look, I know you don't agree with my methods tonight…"

"I didn't say a word." Alfred protested.

"No, but I can see it in your face." Bruce pointed out. "Trust me, I didn't mean for her to get this drunk. But it worked."

"You have a new lead on the Joker's plans?"

"I do." Bruce nodded. "She mentioned that her bosses might have some information that would be useful."

"So Batman will be paying them a visit soon?" Alfred assumed.

"Exactly." He nodded. "Just not tonight. I'll do it tomorrow."

"Who will you start with?" Alfred asked out of curiosity.

Bruce typed a few more things into the computer. "Lacy's boss is Samuel Drake. He's the CEO of Acer Consulting. I'll start with him and then maybe visit the board of directors if I have to."

"Did you happen to notice that there were two cars following us tonight?" Alfred asked after a few minutes of silence. He knew that normally Bruce would definitely notice the cars trailing them, but wanted to make sure since there were other distractions in the car tonight.

Bruce didn't even look up as he continued typing. "A dark green one and a maroon one, right?"

"Yes." Alfred confirmed with a slight chuckle. "Any ideas on why there would be two cars following you?"

"Not really. They weren't following me earlier today." Bruce shook his head and looked up. "Do you know why?"

"No," Alfred replied, "but then again the thought crossed my mind that maybe they weren't following you. Maybe they were following a certain young woman who was in the backseat?"

"Lacy." Bruce sighed. "Who would want to follow her?"

"I hate to say it, but if she is involved in the Joker's plans, maybe he is keeping an eye on her." Alfred explained his theory.

The last thing Bruce wanted to do was believe that Lacy was working with the Joker. He would hate it if she turned out to be helping him. But he had to at least consider it.

She had told him several things that he wasn't sure how she knew. Knowing that all the victims of the Joker's home invasions have been former clients wasn't classified information. Anyone who worked at the company would be able to figure that out by doing some checking. But how did she know to look for that information?

Did she go checking into it out of curiosity? Or did she already know because she was helping? And what about the cars that were following them tonight? Were they following him or her?

He was getting frustrated because instead of getting answers to his questions, he just ended up with more questions. "I'm going to go to bed." He announced, turning off the computer.

"Sleep well Master Wayne." Alfred called out to him.

"You too Alfred." Bruce called back.

* * *

Commissioner Gordon sat at his desk and looked at the clock. It was late. Barbara was going to be livid with him for staying at work so late, especially since it was the third night in a row. He just really wanted to get a new lead on the Joker, especially after what happened at Bruce Wayne's fundraiser. Unfortunately the Joker was good about covering his tracks and there were no leads on his whereabouts.

The only possible lead he had was a long-shot. There was something weird about Lacy Williams and her statement. He couldn't figure out what was off about it, he just knew there was something not right. It was almost like she knew more about the Joker than she was letting on.

After she left the station he took a look at her background file. There wasn't much in there. She had no prior arrests and only one speeding ticket from her teen years. She had lived in almost twelve cities in a few years before settling in Gotham.

Her parents were dead and she had no siblings or other family members. She was married and had a child, but they were both dead. None of those deaths seemed suspicious so he was fairly certain that the Joker wasn't responsible for the deaths.

So he could be fairly confident that she didn't know the Joker from that. He wondered how else they could be connected. That's when he remembered what her occupation was. She was a consultant for Acer Consulting. After doing some digging into the files of the Joker's home invasion victims, he saw a pattern. All of the victims hired Acer Consulting right before their deaths.

He wasn't sure how they could have missed that vital connection. Suddenly it all made sense. Lacy was either working on the inside of her company to help the Joker with his home invasions, or she stumbled onto his plans and he was threatening her. Of course, if he was threatening her, 

the fundraiser would have been a good opportunity to kill her yet he didn't harm her at all. But the Joker was a difficult man to figure out. Maybe he had something else in mind for her.

Then there was also the fact that she had been seen out with Bruce Wayne quite a lot lately. If the connection between the Joker's victims and Acer Consulting wasn't a coincidence, then that would mean that Bruce Wayne could be in serious trouble and not even know it.

That's why he put a tail on her and assigned detectives to her case. She was now an unofficial person of interest in their investigation of the Joker. He looked at the clock again and decided that he might as well go home for a few hours before coming back in the morning.

* * *

"She's where?" The Joker yelled into the phone.

Chip knew this would happen. He knew that the Joker was going to be livid about where Lacy was. That's why he hated telling him, but he had to. "She's at Bruce Wayne's penthouse." He repeated quietly.

The Joker got out of his chair and started to pace. He couldn't believe that she would go over to Wayne's penthouse this late. Given the late hour, chances were exceptionally high that she would be staying there the entire night. His blood was beginning to boil as he thought about the many different things that they could be doing together.

He took a few deep breaths. He decided he needed to get off the phone with Chip so that he could think about what to do concerning this situation. "So, is there anything else you need to tell me?"

Chip didn't tell him about the fact that Bruce carried Lacy to the car, realizing that would only make him angrier. But he did need to ask about the other car. "Actually, just one more thing. Did you send other guys out today to track her?"

"No." The Joker replied, confused by the question. "I didn't. Why?"

"There was another car following her today. I was just wondering if it was one of your other guys or what." Chip explained.

"It's not one of my men." The Joker denied. But if it wasn't one of his guys, then who was it?

"Ok." Chip replied. He wasn't sure what answer he had been hoping for. If the Joker had assigned other guys to the case it would mean that his life was probably going to be over soon, but knowing that the other car didn't belong to the Joker only brought up other questions. He couldn't help but wonder who the other car belonged to.

"So what do you want us to do about the other car?" Chip asked. "What if we see it again tomorrow?"

"Stay clear of it." The Joker advised. "Keep up with your surveillance but also stay out of the way of the other car until I can find out more about it."

"Ok boss." Chip agreed before hanging up.

He threw his phone down onto the desk and sat down, unable to believe what he had just heard. It wasn't supposed to be this way. She was supposed to be moping around and wishing he would stop by. Instead she was over with Bruce Wayne, staying the night at his penthouse.

And the worst part was that he was jealous. Jealousy! That was such a purely common emotion, one that he had prided himself on never feeling for anyone or anything. But now he was finding himself feeling more and more common emotions.

First he started missing her, now he's feeling jealousy. What's next? He certainly didn't want to find out.

His mind kept going back to the same thought, that this wasn't the way it was supposed to be. His whole plan was to make her think that he was leaving her alone so that she would appreciate him more and beg him to come back. He would make her gravel for awhile but then take her back. Instead, she was spending way too much time with Bruce Wayne and he did not like that at all.

He realized it was time to step up his plans for Bruce Wayne. "When I'm finished with him, she'll have no choice but grovel at my feet."


	23. Chapter 23

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to all the people who are reading and/or reviewing!

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chris yawned, not wanting to get up for work yet. But his alarm clock was going off so he knew he had to. He stretched in his bed for a moment. When he finally opened his eyes he was shocked to see the Joker standing at the foot of his bed. "W-w-what are you doing here?" He stuttered.

The Joker laughed. "I'm here to put you back on track. You see, I don't think you have been doing the job I'm paying you to do. If you know what's good for you, you will stop procrastinating."

"I'm not procrastinating." Chris denied. "I simply haven't had any chances to get closer to Bruce Wayne."

"I'm well aware of Bruce's new girlfriend, whatever her name is." He pretended to forget Lacy's name. "I assume she is the reason you haven't been able to get close to him?"

"Well, I, uh…" He hesitated because he didn't want to involve Lacy in this any more than she already was. "It's just that he doesn't really like my personality."

"Then change your personality." The Joker told him. "I want to strike against dear Bruce within the next week. You're going to make it happen or else."

Chris didn't want to ask what the 'or else' was because he had a sneaking suspicion that it meant death—probably a painful death.

"Do we have an understanding?" The Joker asked.

"Yes." Chris replied. "I understand perfectly."

"Good." The Joker smiled. "Now don't make me have to visit you again to set you straight. I don't like making house calls."

Chris watched as the Joker left and released the breath that he had been holding. He really didn't like the fact that the Joker was able to get into his apartment without him knowing. Who knows how long the Joker had been standing over his bed. He could have easily killed him since he was asleep.

He wasn't sure how he was going to get the information necessary for the Joker's plans since it seemed that Bruce Wayne didn't like him. There was only one way he could think of to get the information he needed. He just hoped that it would work or else he was going to die.

* * *

When Lacy opened her eyes the next morning she immediately regretted it. The sun was shining through the windows and the brightness was beginning to hurt her eyes. She threw the pillow over her head to shield herself from the light and heard a voice.

"Good morning Miss Williams." Alfred greeted in a cheerful voice. He was carrying a tray and sat it down on the table next to her bed.

She started to panic as she realized that she wasn't at her apartment. She recognized the voice though. It was Alfred, Bruce's butler. That meant...she had stayed over at his penthouse. Slowly, she moved the pillow away from her face and saw Alfred standing over her with a smile on his face.

"Morning." She managed to give him a half smile.

"I'm surprised you didn't sleep longer." He told her. "You were quite inebriated last night."

"Oh god." It was all starting to come back to her in bits and pieces. She had gotten way too drunk last night. That's why the light was bothering her and that's why she was at Bruce's instead of her own apartment.

Her memory of last night was still fuzzy and she knew that there were many things that she had likely blocked out of her mind. "I got really drunk, didn't I?"

"I'm afraid so." He laughed softly. "It's ok though."

"I didn't make a fool of myself, did I?"

"Not that I saw." He assured her.

"Good." She looked underneath the covers to make sure she still had all her clothes on before throwing back the covers. "I guess I should get back to my apartment and then go to work. Where's Bruce?" He didn't drink as much as she did, but he was definitely at least buzzed. She wondered if he felt even half as bad as she did right now.

"He's already at work." Alfred told her. "He told me to give you this when you woke up." He handed her a note.

"Oh." She took the note. "Ok. Thank you."

"It's my pleasure." Alfred told her as he headed out of the room. "If you need anything else, I will be in the kitchen."

She waited until he was out of the room before reading the note.

_Lacy,_

_Hopefully you are not feeling too many hangover effects from last night. I hope you didn't freak out too much at waking up in my penthouse instead of your apartment. I simply didn't feel right about leaving you alone in your apartment given your drunken state and since it was so late I assumed it would be ok with you. Alfred has made you my magic cure for hangovers. I discovered it during the short time I spent at college and it will help you feel good as new in no time. It really works like a charm. Also, don't worry about rushing into work. Just get here whenever you feel like it. Sorry I wasn't there this morning when you woke up but I had a very important meeting to go to. Talk to you later._

_Bruce_

She folded the note back up and laughed. He always seemed to have a magic cure for everything. She wondered if there was anything he didn't have a magic cure for. She picked up the glass which was sitting on the tray next to the bed and smelled it. It looked horrible and smelled ever worse but she trusted him. So after taking a deep breath she drank the whole glass in one long gulp.

It was disgusting but she managed to drink it all. She briefly wondered what was in it but decided she was probably better off not knowing.

* * *

"I appreciate you seeing me on such short notice Mr. Wayne." Gordon said as he walked into the office and sat in a chair across from Bruce's desk.

"It's no problem." Bruce replied. "It's not often that the police commissioner calls and wants to meet with me. So when you called this morning I figured it must be important."

"I'm afraid it is." Gordon nodded.

Bruce had to admit that he was curious about why Gordon wanted to meet with him. "Does this have to do with my statement from the fundraiser?"

"Yes and no." Gordon answered. "I can't go into specific details but I have a feeling that your life is in imminent danger."

Bruce laughed. "With all due respect, my life is always in imminent danger." This comment elicited a confused look on Gordon's face so he explained further. "Anyone in my financial position is subject to death threats and danger." Then there was also the fact that he was Batman, which only multiplied the danger.

"I see." Gordon relaxed slightly. "Well this goes beyond the normal danger."

"Ok." Bruce nodded. "What's going on?"

"I believe you may be the next target of the Joker. I believe he may be targeting you for his next home invasion." Gordon explained.

Bruce acted like this was a surprise to him, even though it clearly wasn't the first time that he had heard it. "I see. I'm aware that the Joker has been targeting wealthy Gotham citizens but why would you think that I'm next?"

"It may be nothing. It may be a coincidence, but didn't you recently hire Acer Consulting to do some work for your company?" Gordon asked.

"Yes I did." Bruce replied, realizing that he must have put two and two together and realized the connection been the consulting company and the victims.

"Well the other victims also hired Acer Consulting right before their deaths." Gordon replied. "I don't mean to scare you, but if this is more than just a coincidence…"

"I appreciate the warning." Bruce interrupted. "But my penthouse is one of the safest places in Gotham. I doubt he would be able to break in."

"Still," Gordon continued, "I would like to offer you police protection."

Bruce shook his head. He didn't need the police to protect him. In fact, the presence of police would only hinder his Batman activities. "I appreciate the offer, Commissioner, but it won't be necessary. I can afford to hire extra security and I wouldn't dream of using up city funds that would be better spent somewhere else."

"Are you sure?" Gordon asked. He shouldn't have been surprised that Bruce didn't want police protection. Bruce Wayne was an incredibly private man. But if it had been him in Bruce's situation, he would want all the help he could get to ward off the Joker.

"Yes. I am." Bruce nodded.

"Ok." Gordon smiled. "Then I want you to be extra careful and if you see anything that looks suspicious…"

"I'll make sure to call." He finished Gordon's sentence for him.

"Good." Gordon nodded. He got up to leave and started to turn towards the door when he stopped.

"Is there something else?" Bruce asked.

"What do you know about Lacy Williams?" Gordon asked. He was hoping maybe he could get some information from Bruce since he seemed to be spending a lot of time with her.

"What do you want to know?" Bruce asked. He thought it was curious that Gordon was asking him about Lacy. Did that mean that the police suspected her of helping the Joker? Or was Gordon just making sure that he had all the information he might need?

"I was just wondering if you noticed anything behavior changes after what happened to her at the fundraiser." Gordon replied. "Sometimes people, especially women, who have met with the Joker exhibit signs of intense fear and go through behavior changes."

"I haven't noticed anything, but I'll make sure I'm on the lookout for that too." Bruce assured him.

"Well I suppose I have taken up enough of your time." Gordon made his way to the door. "Have a good day Mr. Wayne and please be careful."

"I will. Thank you Commissioner." Bruce said as he watched him leave. It certainly was interesting to find out that Gordon was starting to suspect Lacy. Perhaps one of the cars following Lacy last night belonged to the police. So who did the other car belong to? Perhaps the Joker?

He didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but realized he might have to face the facts that Lacy could be working with the Joker. He really didn't want to believe that she was involved with him, but if that was the case, he was going to have to stop her.

* * *

About twenty minutes after Lacy drank the concoction Alfred brought her, she started to feel much better. She hated to admit it, but Bruce was right again. Whatever it was that she drank really was a magic cure for a hangover.

She was about to leave and go back to her apartment to shower and change before heading in to work but decided to stop by the kitchen. There were a couple of things she wanted to say to Alfred before she left.

She entered the kitchen and saw Alfred had his back to her. "Alfred?" She called out.

Alfred turned to see Lacy standing in the doorway. "It's good to see that you are out of bed. Did the drink help?"

"Yes. It worked wonders." She replied. "I wanted to thank you for bringing it to me."

"It's no problem," Alfred shrugged, "but you should probably thank Mr. Wayne. He's the one who insisted you needed it."

"I will be sure to do that when I see him." She assured him.

"Can I make you breakfast?" He offered.

"Oh no thanks." She declined. "I appreciate the offer but I have to get going. I'm already late for work. I just wanted to come and say thank you for everything you did for me yesterday and this morning."

"It was nothing." Alfred smiled.

He had been watching her, almost studying her movements. First he watched her when she came over for lunch, and then last night and this morning. She didn't seem like the type who would get involved with someone like the Joker, but he couldn't deny the facts.

The facts and signs pointed to her having a connection to him. Although Bruce wants to ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist, Alfred can see it in her eyes. There's a huge load of guilt in her eyes, the kind of guilt that crushes a person's soul.


	24. Chapter 24

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks for all the support on this story! Reviews are appreciated!

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Um boss?" One of the Joker's men hesitantly entered the Joker's office.

"What?" The Joker snapped. "I'm busy. What do you want?"

"There's a guy here to see you." He replied.

"A guy?" The Joker looked up from his papers. He wasn't expecting any visitors and was busy. "Tell him I'm busy and to go away."

He nervously shifted his weight. "He's quite insistent that he get to talk to you."

"I don't care!" The Joker yelled. "I told you that I don't want to be disturbed by anyone right now."

"Actually," the henchman interjected, "he said that if you said something like that I should tell you that if you don't meet with him he will go to Batman and tell him about the location of this hideout."

The Joker contemplated whether or not to still refuse to see whoever it was who was threatening him, just to see if they would go through with their threat. But then realized that it was very hard to find a good place suitable for a hideout and he didn't want to have to deal with that right now.

With a sigh, he resigned himself to the fact that he would have to meet with this mystery man. "Ok. Let him in."

"Whatever you say, boss." The henchman answered, going to bring the guy in. "Good luck buddy." He whispered to the man.

"Hello." The man greeted as he appeared in the doorway.

The Joker took one look at the man in his doorway and broke out into a fit of laughter. "Dr. Jonathan Crane! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Would you believe I dropped by just to say hello?" Crane joked.

The Joker laughed harder. "Nope."

Crane laughed. "Yeah. That would be pretty unbelievable."

"Especially since we're not really friends." The Joker reminded him. "So that still leaves the question of what are you doing here?"

"I come with a proposition for you." He replied, holding up a briefcase he held in his left hand.

"What kind of proposition?" The Joker asked, intrigued.

"I have been working on a new compound," Crane smiled, "one that I believe will change the world."

"Like your fear toxin?" The Joker laughed, pleased to point out Crane's mistakes.

"The fear toxin would have changed the world if it wasn't for Batman." Crane pointed out. "I assume you of all people can understand and appreciate how a well thought-out plan can fail because of the caped crusader."

"True." The Joker had to admit that many of his plans were ruined by Batsy. "But how are you able to create anything again? Last time I heard you were still a little batty from the high exposure to the fear toxin you endured."

"My incapacitation was never as bad as I made it seem to be. I made sure early on in production of the fear toxin that I had an extremely high tolerance for it. Reports of my so-called battiness were highly exaggerated." Crane explained.

The Joker chuckled. "Basically, you faked it?"

"I faked it." Crane acknowledged.

The Joker clapped his hands. "Good job. You had me convinced that you were insane."

"Thank you." Crane bowed his head. "Now let's get back to this new compound." He put the briefcase on the Joker's desk and pulled out a tiny glass vile.

"This isn't another fear toxin, is it?" He hoped it wasn't because he never really liked the idea of the fear toxin.

"No." Crane laughed. "This is something much, much better. How would you like the chance to completely change someone's personality?"

The Joker looked at Crane for a moment before breaking out into laughter. "Are you serious? How in the world would you do that? That's impossible."

"Not really." Crane assured him. "I thought it was too, but I've done some trials and it seems to work."

"How?" The Joker asked, genuinely curious about this new drug.

"All you do is inject the person with the contents of this vile. Then you sit them in this special chair that I have built and make them watch a special video that I have produced. The video conditions them to absorb the personality qualities I want them to possess. Here. I have pictures of the process." He opened his briefcase again and pulled out some pictures, handing them to the Joker.

He glanced at the pictures. "Can you program a person's personality to be anything?"

"Yes, I believe I can." Crane explained. "Right now I'm just conditioning guys to be hardened criminals, but I think I could change anyone into anything."

The Joker had to admit that he was impressed. If what Crane was telling him was the truth, then it was intriguing. He could change anyone into anything he wanted. He could even change Lacy if he wanted to. And to think, all these years he had been doing it the hard way. Oh the marvels of pharmacology.

"How long does it take?" The Joker asked.

"About three days." Crane replied.

"Hmm." The Joker was beginning to like Crane. "So what is your proposition? You mentioned something about it when you came in."

"Ah yes, the proposition." Crane put the vile back into the briefcase where it would be safe. "Word on the street is that you are trying to find the identity of Batman."

"Perhaps." The Joker didn't want to confirm or deny that assumption.

"Well I was thinking, once you find the identity of Batman, why not capture him instead of killing him? Then I can change his personality." Crane smiled. "We can make him one of us."

The Joker considered this for a moment. "You want to turn Batman evil?"

"Yes!" Crane exclaimed happily. "Can you just imagine what that would be like?"

"It's definitely interesting." The Joker had to agree with that. "So what you need from me is to capture Batman?"

"Exactly!" Crane replied. "Then you hand him over to me and I'll change him into a super-villain."

"I'm afraid I'll need to personally see a demonstration of this before I commit to it." The Joker told him.

Crane had expected this. "I have another test scheduled in a couple of days. You are more than welcome to come and observe…"

"No." The Joker shook his head. "I was thinking about a more, personal demonstration. One where I pick the person and the personality changes for that person."

"That would take a while for me get everything ready." Crane objected.

"How long?" The Joker asked impatiently.

"Maybe a week." Crane explained. "It would depend on what kind of personality you wanted and you would have to give me a very detailed list of what you wanted."

He didn't want to wait a week, but realized it would take time. "Ok. I'll get you the list tomorrow Then if everything goes well, I'll hand over Batman."

Crane sighed. He knew that the Joker would want to have a personal demonstration but was hoping against it. It would mean a lot more work for him. Unfortunately he needed the Joker for this plan to work. By himself, he would never be able to pull this off. Perhaps with the Joker they could take down Batman once and for all.

He smiled and held his hand out to the Joker. "I believe we have a deal."

The Joker shook Crane's hand. "Good."

* * *

When Lacy got into her temporary office at Wayne Enterprises she realized that she was three hours late for work. With a groan, she swore never to drink beer again. She wasn't sure, but she had a feeling that she said things that she shouldn't have last night.

Thankfully she was feeling much better after that drink Bruce left her this morning. She debated whether or not to go see if he was in his office. She wanted to say thank you and apologize for her behavior, but at the same time she didn't want to bother him or make him think that she was stalking him. She decided to stay in her office for awhile and maybe go see him later.

There was a knock on her door and she felt her heart skip a beat as she wondered if it was Bruce. "Come in." She said, slightly disappointed when she saw it was Chris and not Bruce. "Hi Chris."

"Good morning." He said sheepishly as he came into her office and shut the door. "I was beginning to get worried about you. You're late."

"Yeah." She gave him a small smile. "I had a late night and overslept."

"I'm just glad to see you are still alive." Chris stated.

She chuckled. "Why wouldn't I be? Do you know something I don't?"

"The Joker came to visit me this morning." Chris explained. "He was standing over my bed when I woke up."

"Oh my God." She exclaimed. "I should be the one saying I'm glad to see you're still alive. What did he want?"

"He wants to move up the plans for Bruce Wayne." Chris whispered. "He thinks I've been procrastinating and that you are preventing me from doing my job."

"He mentioned me personally?" Lacy asked.

"He didn't say your name, but he knows that you are Bruce's girlfriend and that you are a main reason I haven't been able to do my job." Chris explained.

She groaned. "He really said the word girlfriend?"

"Yeah." Chris replied, confused by her reaction. "Isn't that what you are?"

She had to think quickly to make up a lie since she led Chris to believe that she was dating Bruce. "Um, we haven't exactly put a label on our relationship."

"Well anyway, the Joker knows you're involved with Bruce." Chris pointed out.

"Great." She mumbled. Having the Joker think that she was dating Bruce wasn't a good thing, especially since he most likely knew she spent the night at Bruce's penthouse last night. He probably still had his guys following her, which would make sense why he paid a visit to Chris this morning.

This was only going to end badly.

"So, I'm in kind of a bad predicament now." Chris told her.

"How so?" She asked.

"The Joker wants results and he wants to go after Bruce as soon as possible. If I can't give him the information he needs to do that, then I'm gonna die very soon." Chris explained. "But at the same time, Bruce doesn't really like me and I can't get close enough to him to find out the information I need. The only person I can think of that would be able to is…"

"Me." She finished his sentence. "You want me to get the information from him?"

"I would appreciate it." Chris smiled.

"You really expect me to get information from Bruce so that the Joker can kill him?" Lacy laughed.

"I was hoping." Chris explained. "Because if you don't, you're practically signing my death warrant."

"And if I do, I'm signing Bruce's." She reminded him.

"Not necessarily. Bruce is rich. He probably has so much security that the Joker wouldn't be able to breach it." Chris reminded her.

"You're putting me in a horrible situation." She told him, getting angry with him. "I can't believe you'd even ask this of me."

"I don't want to, Lacy, believe me. This is the last thing I want to do, but I have no choice. I had to at least ask you." He told her. "I don't want to die."

"I realize that, but you're basically making me choose between the two of you." Lacy pointed out.

"I know, and I'm so sorry." He apologized. "I hate even asking this of you. I know I'm a coward. I put myself in this situation and now I'm practically begging you to help me out of it when it's not your responsibility."

"You're right. It's not my responsibility." She sighed. "What information would you even need?"

"The layout of his penthouse, his habits, the level of security, who lives there with him, that type of thing." Chris explained. "Does this mean you'll help me?"

"It means I'll think about it." She told him. "Now get out please."

"Ok." He nodded. "Thank you Lacy. You're a good friend. I know I don't deserve you and if you decide not to help me, I'll understand."

She watched him leave and put her head down on the table. She hated the fact that she was being put in the middle of the Joker's schemes again. It was bad enough that he probably thinks she's sleeping with Bruce. Now he's definitely going to kill Bruce and make it as painful as possible.

But now she's also being put in the middle of things by Chris. She was angry at him for even asking her to make this choice. How is she supposed to choose between Bruce and Chris? If she helps Chris then Bruce will be vulnerable to an attack by the Joker and Chris will still be one of the Joker's pawns. If she doesn't help Chris, the Joker will simply kill Chris and find another way to get to Bruce. She's in a no-win situation.

Unless…She raised her head from the desk as a plan came to her. It was a long shot, but maybe she could pull it off. She would need help though. She started formulating and developing her idea, exploring all possible outcomes.


	25. Chapter 25

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks for the comments and thanks to everyone who is reading this story! Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Five

Bruce was sitting in his office at Wayne Enterprises. His chair was turned so that he could look out the window. He had been thinking about his earlier visit from Jim Gordon. Although Gordon claimed he was simply worried about Lacy's well-being after the ordeal at the fundraiser, he knew the truth. Gordon suspected the same thing he suspected—that Lacy was somehow involved with the Joker.

He didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to think that Lacy was involved with such a monster. But the facts remained the same and he knew that he might have to face the facts that she wasn't who he thought she was.

That would disappoint him greatly. He was really starting to care about her, although he was still unclear if his feelings were just friendly or more than that. The kiss they shared last night was electric, but he wasn't sure she was aware of who she was kissing.

He was hoping that she would come by and see him once she got into work. Alfred had called him when Lacy left the penthouse and he knew that she should be at work by now because the call had been a few hours ago.

It occurred to him that perhaps she was ashamed of her behavior from the night before, although she had nothing to be ashamed about. If anyone had the right to be ashamed it was him. It wasn't her fault that she got so drunk. It was his because he shouldn't have encouraged it.

He was thinking about whether or not he should go over to her office and say hello when there was a knock on his door. He turned his chair away from the window. "Come in." He called out, smiling when he saw Lacy in his doorway.

"Hi." She gave him a small smile. "Is this a bad time?"

"No, not at all." He assured her, waving for her to come in. "How are you feeling?"

She sat down in a chair across from his desk. "Embarrassed, but fine other than that."

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about." He told her.

"I highly doubt that." She laughed. "I don't remember all of it, but I seem to remember making a complete fool out of myself."

"Well you were a very charming fool if that helps any." He joked.

She smiled and playfully rolled her eyes. "It helps a little. Thanks."

"No problem." He replied.

"And thanks for the absolutely disgusting drink that you had Alfred bring me this morning." She made a face. "I don't think I ever want to know what is in it, but it worked perfectly."

"I'm glad to hear that." He smiled. "And you're right. It's best if you don't know what's in it."

She didn't know how to say what she needed to say so she took a deep breath first. "So I was wondering if you wanted to maybe have dinner with me tonight? I feel like I need to treat you to dinner. You've been so gracious and wonderful to me. I'd like to do something for you."

"That's not necessary at all, I assure you." He was slightly surprised that she was asking to have dinner with him. Usually he was the one having to ask her to do things with him.

"I know." She nodded. "But I want to." It was true that she wanted to thank him for everything he had done for her since she met him, but she also had an ulterior motive.

"I would love to have dinner with you, but I have something I need to take care of tonight." He told her. He was still planning on going and paying a visit to her boss.

"Oh." The smile fell from her face. She really needed to go out to dinner with him tonight. Tomorrow night might be too late. But if he had something planned already she couldn't ask him to cancel for her. "Ok. Well how about tomorrow night?"

He started thinking about it and realized he could do both. "Actually, I can put that off. How about I pick you up from your apartment at 8? I know a great restaurant we can go to."

The smile returned to her face. "8 sounds great."

* * *

Samuel Drake entered his house that evening and threw his keys down on the table next to the door. He then threw down his briefcase and headed into the living room. He walked over to his mini bar and turned on the lights. He was pouring himself a scotch when he heard a voice come from behind.

"Nothing for me, but thanks for asking." Bruce said, announcing his presence.

Drake turned around and was shocked to see Batman standing in his living room. He was so surprised that he dropped his drink, making the scotch leak on to the carpet. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I came by to talk." Bruce replied, motioning for Drake to sit down on the couch.

Drake slowly moved to the couch and sat down. "Talk about what?" He didn't think that this would be a pleasant visit from Batman and wondered if Batman knew about his involvement with the Joker.

"How about the Joker?" Bruce suggested.

"Ok." Drake nodded. "What about him?"

"What do you know about the Joker?" Bruce asked.

"Only what I hear and read in the media." Drake lied.

"Really?" Bruce didn't believe that. "You mean to tell me that you have never met or talked to the Joker?"

"No." Drake lied, shaking his head. He was starting to get nervous and anxious.

"So it's just a coincidence that the Joker's home invasion victims all used your company right before they died?" Bruce asked.

"Yes." Drake replied, getting frustrated. "It's like I told the Police Commissioner earlier today, I don't know why the Joker's victims all hired my company but I had nothing to do with it."

Bruce was interested in knowing that Gordon had gone and questioned Mr. Drake earlier in the day. He was also glad to know what information Gordon had gotten from the man. He would get the whole story though.

"I think it's a little too coincidental for all the victims to have hired your company." Bruce told the man.

"Well I'm sorry that you don't believe in coincidences." Drake replied.

"I believe in coincidences." Bruce protested. "I just also believe that there are people in the world who are susceptible to bribes."

"Are you insinuating something about my character?" Drake asked, feigning insult.

"I'm simply saying that there are people in the world who don't mind doing evil things for money." Bruce explained.

"Well I'm not one of them." Drake lied.

"You sure about that?" Bruce asked.

"Yes." Drake nodded.

Bruce realized that he needed to take a different approach if he was going to get this guy to talk. "You know, I have proof that you have been in contact with the Joker."

Drake laughed nervously. "What kind of fabricated proof could you have?"

"Let's just say that it was enough to get the police to question you today. How long do you think you have until the police subpoena your phone and bank records? And what will they find? Calls to the Joker? Wire transfers from an unknown account? Tell me, what will they find?"

Drake finally couldn't stand it anymore and stood up. He walked over to the window. "They won't find any wire transfers. It's not about money."

Bruce was glad to hear that his bluffing was finally getting him somewhere with this guy. "If it's not about money, then what is it about?"

Drake sighed and turned around to face Batman again. "He has leverage over me."

"Blackmail?"

"Yeah." Drake nodded. "It could ruin my life if it ever got out."

"What is he holding over you?" Bruce asked.

"A couple of years ago I hit someone with my car and just drove off. I was drunk and driving home from a party when I hit a woman who was walking. She bled to death on the side of the road and I just drove off." Drake explained. "So you see, if that ever got out, I would be going to jail for a long time and my reputation would be tainted."

"And the Joker is holding that over your head?" Bruce assumed.

"He has proof and has threatened to send it to the police." Drake explained.

"So in exchange for keeping your secret, you…" Bruce prompted.

"I make sure my company goes after big accounts, like the Wayne Enterprises job." Drake explained. "So who ratted me out? Was it Chris? 'Cause he seems to have grown a conscience lately."

"It wasn't Chris." Bruce told him, intrigued to know that Chris was a part of it too.

Drake sighed. "Then it was Lacy, wasn't it?"

Bruce's heart sank when he heard the man say Lacy's name. He now had proof of her guilt and wondered just how involved Lacy was in this.

"I swear that girl's been hanging around for the past couple of weeks, trying to find out everything she can on our operation. I knew her noisiness would be trouble. I told Chris she would ruin everything. She probably pieced everything together and came to you, right?" Drake asked.

"Not exactly." Bruce replied, trying to understand what Drake was telling him. "So let me get this straight. Chris is working with you but Lacy isn't?"

"That's right." Drake replied. He figured that if he was going down he might as well take Chris with him. "Chris has been working with me since the beginning. Lacy's just a pest, buzzing around like a vulture, trying to get as much information on us as possible."

Hearing those words made Bruce incredibly happy. Now he knew Lacy's level of involvement with the Joker. Everything started to make sense to him. Lacy found out too much information about the Joker's scheme and that's why the Joker had his men try to kill her that night. Then the Joker came to the fundraiser to scare Lacy and probably told her to stop digging around. He probably threatened her life and told her not to say anything about what she knew to anyone.

She then couldn't say anything to the police about what the Joker told her so she left that out of her statement. And that was why Gordon sensed she wasn't telling the whole truth about the events at the fundraiser. He already knew that one of the cars which were following Lacy belonged to the police and now he knew that the other must belong to the Joker.

He must be having someone monitor her so that he can be sure she isn't going to the police with what she knows. Everything clicked in his mind and he felt relieved. But he still had to deal with Drake.

"So you get the big accounts. Then what?" Bruce asked.

"Chris gets close to the guy in charge and finds out whatever information the Joker needs to break into the guys' house. Then the Joker kills them." Drake explained.

"Why is the Joker targeting wealthy men in Gotham?" Bruce asked.

"I can't really say." Drake replied. "I'm not exactly sure. There's a rumor going around that he's trying to find out who you really are behind the mask."

"I see." Bruce hadn't been expecting that answer, but was glad to know that was a possible reason for the Joker's crime spree. He looked at Drake's clock and saw that it was already seven. He had one hour before he was supposed to pick up Lacy for dinner. "I expect you not to tell the Joker I was here."

Drake laughed. "If I told the Joker about this visit, he would probably kill me, so I think your secret is safe with me."

"Good." Bruce told him. "I'll be in touch soon."

"Can't wait." Drake mumbled. When he was sure that Batman was gone, he walked back over to the mini bar and poured himself a large glass of scotch.


	26. Chapter 26

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to all who are reading/reviewing this story! Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Six

"Alfred, she's just pawn in the Joker's schemes. She's an innocent stuck in the middle." Bruce explained as he buttoned up his shirt.

Alfred sighed. Although the theory that Bruce had presented made sense, he still couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this story. He felt like there was something else going on, but convincing Bruce about it would be difficult. "And you're sure about that?"

He thought about it for a moment before nodding his head. "Yeah." He took a look at Alfred's face. "You doubt it?"

"I don't know." Alfred answered honestly. "I just think it's too early to completely clear her of all wrong doing. She's got guilt written all over her face."

"It's probably because she wants to tell the police what she knows but she can't." Bruce reasoned. "But now that I know she's not directly involved with the Joker, I…"

"You can what?" Alfred asked, curious to know where Bruce's head was at. At first he was convinced that Bruce thought of Lacy as just a friend. But he had been watching him and was beginning to think that he was starting to have more…romantic feelings.

He would be like it if Bruce started seriously dating someone. Life was too short for him to be alone for the rest of his life and he liked Lacy. She seemed like a genuinely good person. But he had to admit that he was skeptical about her involvement with the Joker.

It seemed like Bruce had blinders on when it came to Lacy. He worried that it would come back and hurt him in the end. But Bruce was old enough to live his own life and make his own mistakes.

Bruce thought about Alfred's question, unsure how to answer it. He didn't expect to develop feelings for Lacy but was finding himself wondering what a relationship with her would be like. They had a lot in common and had fun together. She was strong, funny, intelligent, and beautiful—all the things he would want in a woman.

But he was getting ahead of himself. He didn't even know what she thought about him. To her, he might just be another male friend to hang out with. Realizing he hadn't answered Alfred's question, he replied, "I can be her friend with no reservations. Now if you'll excuse me, I don't want to keep her waiting."

* * *

It was five minutes til eight when Lacy heard a knock on her door. She put down the earring in her hand and rushed to the door. "Hi." She greeted Bruce with a smile on her face.

"Hi." He smiled back as he took a good look at her. She was wearing a dark blue spaghetti strap dress that went down to her knees. He wanted to laugh because they had both picked pretty much the same color to wear without even trying. He was wearing a dark blue shirt and a suit jacket.

"I have to apologize." She said as she ushered him into the apartment. "I'm not quite ready. I just need a couple more minutes."

"That's ok." He looked at his watch. "I am a few minutes early anyway."

She motioned to the living room. "Please make yourself at home. I'll only be a moment."

He nodded and went to go sit on the couch. As he passed the coffee table he couldn't help but see something that caught his attention. There on the corner of the table was a card. Making sure that Lacy was still in the bedroom, he picked up the card and examined it further.

It was a Joker card, the same type that the Joker leaves at the scenes of his crimes at let people know he was there. Either the Joker was here and threatened Lacy or he gave it to her at the fundraiser. Either way, he was starting to understand Lacy's behavior better. He quickly stuffed it into his suit pocket and sat down on the couch.

"Sorry about that." Lacy apologized as she came out of the bedroom with her purse in her hand. "I hope you weren't too bored."

"Not at all." He smiled. "You look wonderful."

She smiled and couldn't help but blush. It felt nice to be complimented by a man. "Thank you. Are you ready togo?"

"Yes." He answered, following her out the door.

* * *

"We should tell him about this." Chip told Dale as they watched Lacy and Bruce head into The Colonnade Room. "It looks like they are on a date."

"That's exactly why we shouldn't tell him." Dale retorted. "He's been acting screwy ever since we told him that she spent the night at his penthouse."

"He's always a little screwy." Chip reminded his friend.

"Yeah, but now he's even more screwy…if that's even possible." Dale sighed. "It's my turn to check in with him. Do I really have to tell him about this?"

"If you don't and he finds out from someone else, which you know he will, we'll be dead faster than you can say 'goodbye'." Chip explained.

He had to admit that Chip made a good point. "Fine." He got out his cell phone and dialed.

"Hello." The Joker answered the phone and put the knife back into his pocket. "This better be important because I am extremely busy right now."

"Hey boss. It's Dale. I just wanted to give you an update."

"Ok." The Joker replied. "What's she doing tonight? Working late? Staying in?"

"She's actually out at the Colonnade Room with Bruce Wayne right now." Dale answered hesitantly, glad that the Joker couldn't hurt him over the phone.

The Joker was silent for a moment, not wanting to let his anger or jealousy show. He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. "She's out on a date with him?"

"It appears that way boss." Dale replied.

His resolve to kill Bruce Wayne became intensified and he realized he needed to implement his plans soon, if for no other reason than to break up the relationship Lacy seemed to be building with Bruce Wayne.

Dammit! She was his. She was his wife, not Bruce Wayne's and she should know better than to go out and date another guy. Whatever happened to loyalty? Well they would both pay for this. He would make sure of it.

"If there isn't anything else, I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing." Dale said after a few moments of silence. He just wanted to get off the phone before the Joker started yelling.

"Just one more thing." The Joker added. "Is the other car still following her?"

"Yes." Dale replied. "It's gotten harder to keep track of her without the other car noticing, but we're managing. Any idea who else is following her?"

"It's the police." The Joker replied. "So make sure to stay far, far away from them. Ok?"

"Sure thing boss." Dale replied before hanging up.

The Joker put his phone back in his jacket pocket and pulled the knife out again. "Well now, where were we?" He hesitated for a moment, as if pretending to think about it. "Ah. Yes. Now I remember. I was about to kill you."

His victim sat in a chair bound and gagged. They were struggling to get out of the ropes but were having no luck and realized that they were going to die.

The Joker laughed as he plunged the knife into the person's chest. "Ah, it's times like these that I love my job."

* * *

"It's very nice to see you again, Mr. Wayne." A man greeted as he came up to their table. "I don't know if you remember me, but I'm…"

"Mr. Bernard, the manager of this fine restaurant." Bruce finished the man's sentence as he shook the man's hand.

"I'm honored that you remembered." Mr. Bernard smiled.

"Well I always remember when something seems exceptional to me, and your restaurant is one of the best in Gotham." Bruce explained. He looked over to Lacy. "The chef here is definitely one of my favorites. You're in for quite a treat."

"Yes, you both are." Mr. Bernard interjected.

"Where are my manners?" Bruce scolded himself. "Mr. Bernard, this is Lacy Williams."

Lacy extended her hand and was surprised when Mr. Bernard kissed it. "It's nice to meet you."

"My dear the pleasure is all mine, I assure you." Mr. Bernard insisted, taking a long look at Lacy before turning back to Bruce. "I hope this table is alright with you?"

They had been given a table that was next to a window and not too far away from the dance floor. It wasn't isolated, but it provided them with amble privacy. "The table is wonderful." Bruce told the man.

"Wonderful!" Mr. Bernard replied, clapping his hands together. "If either of you need anything at all tonight, please do not hesitate to let me know."

"Thank you." Bruce replied with a smile. Once he was out of earshot, he spoke again. "I thought he would never leave us alone."

Lacy laughed. "You and me both."

"I think he has a crush on you." Bruce pointed out. "Did you see the way he looked at you?"

"Yes." Lacy nodded her head. "Unfortunately for him, he's not my type."

"What is your type?" Bruce asked out of curiosity. A part of him wondered if he was her type.

She was taken back by the question, not expecting him to ask something like that. Was he asking simply because he was curious or did he have an ulterior motive? She had to think about how to 

answer this question. "Well he has to be smart with a good sense of humor and trustworthy. Kindness is a must, and of course it wouldn't hurt if he was drop dead gorgeous."

He smiled, realizing that he was all of those things.

She immediately realized that she had just listed a bunch of qualities that Bruce had and became embarrassed. She didn't want him to think that she was hitting on him, unless he wanted her to. "I guess I don't have to ask what your type is. All I have to do is go to a newsstand and pick up a tabloid."

"You think you know what my type is?" He questioned.

"Yes, I do." She laughed.

"Ok." He nodded. "Let's hear it. What's my type?"

"Ok." She accepted his challenge. "You like super-skinny, super-dumb, models."

"Nope." He shook his head. "That's who I settle for."

She looked at him suspiciously. "You're Bruce Wayne. You don't have to settle for anyone."

"Well thanks for the vote of confidence, but you're wrong." He explained. "I only go out with the super-skinny, super-dumb models that you pointed out because it's exceptionally hard to find someone of substance to date."

"You want substance?" She laughed. "What does that even mean?"

"Substance is…well it's hard to explain." He told her as he started staring into her eyes. "You have substance. I guess my type is someone like you."

She didn't know what to say to that. He was looking into her eyes and she realized that she could easily get lost staring into those chocolate brown orbs of his. The way she was feeling scared her and she broke their eye contact, instead looking down at her menu. "So what do you recommend?"

"Anything." He laughed. "I have yet to try anything here that isn't delicious. But one of my favorites is the filet mignon."

"Hmm." Lacy looked over the menu. "I think I might try that. Thanks."

"Anytime." He told her, grabbing his menu and taking a look.


	27. Chapter 27

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to everyone reading and/or reviewing this story! Comments are very appreciated.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

They were about halfway done with dinner before Lacy got the reasons why she wanted to have dinner with him. "So I wanted to take you to dinner tonight as a way to thank you and apologize for my behavior last night."

"You don't have to apologize." He assured her.

"That's sweet of you to say, but I do." She insisted. "I don't normally drink that much and I don't know why I did last night. I guess I've just been kind of stressed out lately and I handled it the wrong way."

"What have you been so stressed out about?" He asked, wondering if he could get her to admit that she was being threatened by the Joker.

"Just work and some other stuff. It's nothing really, just a bunch of little things." She lied.

"Wanna talk about it?" He offered. "Sometimes that helps."

"Thanks," she smiled at him, "but its fine. Really. I just need to learn how to let go of certain things in my life." She would be a lot better off if she could let go of the Joker, and that was what she was trying to do. She wanted to get him out of her life.

"Ok." He had to respect her decision not to tell him.

"I'm still not 100 sure of what all I did or said last night, and while you assured me that I don't need to be embarrassed I can't help it." She continued. "I feel like I made a fool of myself."

"You were very drunk." He admitted. "But you weren't a mean drunk, so that's a plus."

She gave him a small smile. "That is a plus."

"Please, do not beat yourself up over last night." He tried to convince her. "What's done is done and I'm not judging you for it."

"Fair enough." She nodded.

"So is that the only reason you asked me to dinner?" He asked casually.

"Actually, no." She hesitated before continuing. "I have kind of a big favor I need to ask you and I'm a little afraid to ask."

"Why?" He asked. He didn't see any reason why she needed to be afraid to ask him for a favor.

"Because I don't want you to think that I'm using you." She replied, biting her lip out of nervousness.

"Oh." He suddenly understood. "So I guess it's a big favor?"

"Yeah." She nodded her head. "It's a pretty big favor, and I'll completely understand if you say no."

"Ok." He took a sip of his water. "I'm ready. Lay it on me."

"Ok." She took a deep breath. "Well, you see, I have a friend who is in a lot of trouble. He's gotten in deep with some bad people and I'm afraid for his life."

"Who is this friend?" Bruce asked, wondering if it was Chris.

"It's Chris." Lacy told him. "I don't you don't really like him much but…"

"Who said I don't like him?" Bruce asked. It was the truth. He didn't really like Chris and never had, but didn't think it was that obvious.

"I can just tell." Lacy explained. "It's not that hard to see it on your face every time he comes around."

"Fair enough." Bruce laughed.

"Chris is a really nice guy and despite what he's gotten into, he doesn't deserve to die." Lacy told him.

"And you think that is a possibility?" Bruce asked, already knowing that it was since Chris is working for the Joker.

"I think it's a definite possibility." She replied.

"Have you or him gone to the police about this?" He asked.

"No." She shook her head. "The police wouldn't be able to help."

"What has he gotten himself into?" Bruce asked. "Who is after him?"

"I can't really tell you that." She shook her head.

"Why not?" Bruce asked.

"It's not that I don't trust you." She assured him. "I just can't tell you details about this. Trust me, it's for your own good that you don't know the details."

"So what do you need from me?" He asked. "Do you need money?"

"No." She shook her head. "I don't need money. What I need is for you to get Chris a job at a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises. I need you to get him as far away from Gotham as you possibly can—the other side of the world would be wonderful. And I need you to do it as soon as possible."

He looked at her face and saw the concern. "You're really worried about him, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am." She confirmed. "Deep down he's a good person. He's just made some mistakes and gotten carried away with the wrong people. He's been a good friend to me and the last thing I want is for him to get hurt because I didn't do anything to stop it."

He was silent for a moment, contemplating what she was asking of him. She didn't know that he was aware of everything going on with Chris and her boss so she probably thought that he would have a problem blindly trusting her.

He could see that she really just wanted to help Chris and keep him safe. He had to admire that kind of loyalty, and while he didn't really like Chris that much, he didn't want to see Lacy hurt by Chris' death.

"I realize that this is a lot," Lacy spoke again, "especially since I can't tell you a lot of the details."

"Basically you want me to help a guy I don't really like for reasons I can't know, all because you asked me too?" He summed it up.

"Yes." She replied, thinking that he wasn't going to do it. "Look, it was a stupid idea. Just forget about it. I'll find another way…"

"I'll do it." He interrupted her.

"You'll what?" She was surprised by his answer, but definitely happy.

"I'll do it." He repeated. "First thing tomorrow morning I will make the calls necessary to get Chris a job. I'm thinking maybe in Switzerland or Japan. Would that be far enough away?"

"Yes, that would be perfect." She smiled, unsure of what to say. "I don't think I can ever thank you enough. This is so wonderful of you to help me…and Chris. I can't tell you what this means to me."

"Chris means a lot to you, doesn't he?" Bruce asked, suddenly wondering if Lacy was so hell-bent on trying to save Chris because she has feelings for him.

"Well," she wasn't sure how to answer that question. He does mean a lot to her, but not in the way Bruce was seeming to imply. She didn't have romantic feelings for Chris. She just saw a lot of herself in him.

He feels unable to stand up to the Joker and for a long time that was her. He was naïve and got involved with the Joker to the point where he doesn't think he can get out, and she's felt the same way. They are both prisoners of the Joker in their own ways. The only difference is that she might actually be able to save him.

"He's a good friend, nothing more." She finally answered. "Bruce, I don't know how to thank you for this. I mean, you really didn't have to agree to this, especially since I can't tell you all the details. But yet you're still willing to help me. I don't know how I can ever repay you for that."

"You don't have to." He assured her.

"I feel like I need to do something though." She told him.

An idea came to him and he smiled. "Ok. How about a dance?"

"You want to dance with me?" She asked, surprised by his request.

"Yes, but only if you want to dance with me." He stood up and held out his hand.

She smiled and got up, taking his hand and letting him lead her to the dance floor. There were only a few other couples dancing. She put her hand on his shoulder and felt him wrap his arm around her waist.

She had to admit that it felt nice to be in his arms. For the first time in years she actually felt safe, like the Joker couldn't hurt her. She hated the fact that her mind constantly thought about him. He was evil and despicable, and she hated him. But at the same time she kind of loved him. Tired of thinking about him, she turned her thoughts towards Bruce.

Bruce was the complete opposite of the Joker. He was more like Jack used to be, or what she thought he was when they were younger. The fact that he would help her get Chris out of the country with so few details was simply amazing to her. She loved the fact that he was so willing to help her.

Bruce swayed to the music, staring at Lacy as they moved around the dance floor. She was obviously deep in thought about something but a few moments later she was looking back at him.

"You're a good dancer." She commented.

"So are you." He told her.

She blushed. "I'm surprised I still know how. I'm afraid it's been awhile since I last danced. I'm just glad I'm not stepping on your toes."

"Nope." He glanced down at their feet. "My toes are fine."

"You're something else." She laughed.

He looked at her intently. "Is that some kind of a compliment?"

"Yes." She nodded. "It's definitely a compliment."

They continued to dance to the music, their bodies getting closer and closer to each other until there wasn't any space left between them. Bruce slowly leaned in and placed his lips on hers.

She was surprised to have Bruce kiss her, but welcomed his lips. She enjoyed the feeling of his lips, so gentle and warm. It was a stark contrast to what she was used to. When they pulled away from each other, neither seemed to know what to say to the other.

The silence between them didn't last long though because Bruce's cell phone started to ring.

"I'm sorry." He apologized, looking at the caller id and seeing Alfred's name. "I have to take this call."

"I understand." She nodded. "I'll be at the table."

"Ok." He answered his cell phone and then walked off to the lobby to talk. "Alfred? What's going on?"

"You might want to come home soon. There's been a development that you will be interested in learning about." Alfred replied.

"What's happened?" Bruce asked.

"Samuel Drake is dead." Alfred replied. "The call just came over the police scanner."

"Damn it." Bruce whispered. "Ok. I'll be right there."

The Joker must have found out that the police were questioning Drake and decided to take care of it. That would mean that Chris' life was in serious jeopardy. He would have to work quickly to get Chris out of the country before the Joker decided to kill him too.

He walked back to the table. "Lacy, I'm so sorry but I have to cut this evening short. There's an emergency at work I need to take care of."

"Sounds serious." She told him.

"It is." He assured her. "Look, why don't you stay here and have dessert? I'll leave the car here for you. That way you can get home safely."

"Oh no, I couldn't." She protested.

"I insist." He told her. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Tomorrow." She gave him a smile as he turned to leave. She had to wonder why the universe seemed to always interrupt them either before or after a kiss.


	28. Chapter 28

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: I think this is one of my favorite chapters so far. Hopefully you all enjoy it too!

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Miss Williams?" Mr. Bernard approached the table.

"Yes Mr. Bernard?" Lacy smiled, turning her attention to the man.

"A gentleman has asked me to send this dessert over to you and to hand you this note." Mr. Bernard told her, giving her the note and instructing the waiter to place the dessert in front of her.

"Thank you very much." Lacy replied, assuming that the dessert was from Bruce as a way to apologize for leaving in such a hurry.

"It's my pleasure." Mr. Bernard replied. "If you need anything else, just let me know."

"I will." She waited until she was alone again to open up the note. Instead of seeing an apology from Bruce, she saw something different.

_My dearest Lacy,_

_Meet me in the ladies restroom NOW. I need to talk to you about something important. _

_J_

She knew that this whole 'you're free and I won't bother you' attitude of the Joker's wouldn't last for long, but had hoped it would last more than a few days. Looking around, she didn't see him anywhere and deduced that he must already be waiting for her in the restroom. She threw the note onto the table and motioned for the waiter to come over.

"Is there something I can help you with Miss?" He asked in a polite tone.

"Yes, actually there is." She smiled. "Can you please give this to someone else? The gentleman who sent this to me unfortunately didn't know that I'm allergic to peanuts so I can't eat it, but I don't want it to go to waste."

"Certainly Miss." He grabbed the plate. "I'll take care of it."

"Thank you so much." The truth was that she had no peanut allergy. She just didn't want to eat anything he sent her but didn't want it to go to waste either. Before the waiter left she spoke again. "Also, can you please bring the bill over?"

"Actually, Mr. Wayne took care of it on his way out." The waiter informed her.

"He did?" She was surprised by that but shouldn't have been. Maybe she was fooling herself for letting herself think that he would allow her to pay for dinner.

"Yes." The waiter confirmed.

"Ok. Thank you." She sat there in her seat for a few minutes. The note had said to come now, but she intended on making him wait. After all, she wasn't one of his flunkies that he could order around. She entertained the idea of leaving without going to talk to him but decided against it.

She wanted to let him know exactly what she thought of his note and rub it in that he was the first one to contact her. He had been so certain that she would be the first one to crumble, but she wasn't. And it was going to be fun rubbing that fact in his face. With a smile and a determined attitude, she got up and headed to the ladies room.

* * *

When he got home, Bruce found Alfred watching the news. "It's on the news already?" He asked.

"Yes." Alfred replied grimly. "The media was all too happy to report on this because of the gruesomeness of the crime. They almost seem to love it when the Joker does things like this so long as they aren't the victim."

"What do you expect though? Unfortunately it's the type of society we live in." Bruce turned up the television to hear the recap of the story.

_For those of you just joining us, the Joker appears to have claimed another victim in a grizzly murder tonight. Police found the body of forty-seven year old Samuel Drake hanging on the front porch of his house. It appears that he was stabbed forty-seven times in various parts of his body before being hung up. The police have found no witnesses to this heinous crime at this time. We will continue to keep you updated as more information becomes available._

"I wonder if the Joker killed him because the police questioned him or because I did." Bruce wondered aloud.

"Who knows." Alfred replied. "Maybe the Joker simply killed him because he had a mood swing. It's anybody's guess why the Joker does what he does."

"If I hadn't been in a hurry to meet Lacy tonight I would have gotten more information out of him." He pointed out. "Now it's too late."

"Yes." Alfred agreed with a slight chuckle. "It will be difficult to get him to talk now. But you still have Chris. You can question him. He may not know as much as Mr. Drake, but it's worth a shot."

"I better do it soon though." Bruce commented.

* * *

Lacy took a deep breath before entering the ladies restroom. She locked the door behind her and rounded the corner, coming face to face with him. "What is this about?"

"What? No hello? I don't warrant a hello or how are you doing?" He acted hurt. "I thought you had better manners than that."

"Well I thought that you were going to leave me alone." She countered. "Looks like we're both disappointed tonight."

He simply shrugged and walked around her, as if stalking his prey. "You look…good."

"I know." She replied confidently. "Now if you don't mind, I have things to do. Let's get this over with."

"Oh yes!" He clapped his hands together. "You must want to go run after your new boyfriend. He probably misses you terribly."

She looked at him for a moment and laughed. "I don't believe it!"

"Don't believe what?" He asked, not understanding what was so funny to her.

"You're actually jealous!" She laughed harder. "You're jealous of Bruce Wayne. This is just priceless."

He grabbed her by the throat and slammed her up against the wall, holding her there as she gasped for air. "I am not jealous. I do not get jealous and I certainly wouldn't be jealous over you. Is that understood?"

She knew she was right about her accusation. If she wasn't, he would have laughed it off and let it go. The fact that he was throwing her up against the wall like this only proved her point. But she did want to be able to breathe again and nodded her head so that he would let her go.

He let go of her throat but kept her cornered against the wall. "You really do look good though." Without warning he grabbed her shoulders and pressed his lips onto hers, pushing his tongue into her mouth.

She was surprised by his move and let the kiss go on for a few moments before pulling out of his grasp. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She reached up to slap his face but he caught a hold of her arm.

"Just kissing my wife. Is there a new law against that or something?" He chuckled. "I bet that was better than the kiss you had fifteen minutes ago."

She rolled her eyes and pulled her arm from his grasp. "Actually, I hope you didn't bet too much on that because you're wrong. Bruce is a much better kisser than you." She knew it wasn't exactly the best idea to goad him but she couldn't help it anymore.

She laughed. "Plus, he's a real man. He doesn't treat everyday as Halloween, dressing up in weird costumes and wearing clown makeup."

"Oh." He laughed with her for a moment before pulling out a knife and holding it against her throat. "You really think that's funny?"

"Yeah." She looked into his eyes and nodded. "I do."

He put the knife down and started laughing. "Well it looks like this short break from me has done wonders for you. You've gotten a new boyfriend and grown a backbone."

"He's not my boyfriend." She sighed. "Stop calling him that."

"He's not your boyfriend?" He shook his head and pointed his finger at her. "So you slept with him last night but didn't get any kind of commitment? Tsk. Tsk. What kind of woman are you?"

"I didn't…" She stopped herself. He thinks that she slept with Bruce last night. Trying to convince him otherwise would be a waste of time. "Is this the only reason you brought me in here? To talk about Bruce? Because if that's the truth then I think you might be obsessed with him. Ooh! Maybe you have a man crush!"

"No." He assured her, letting the man crush remark go because it was laughable. "I dropped by to let you know that you're being followed by someone other than me."

"Who else would be following me?" She didn't believe him. There was no one else that would bother following her.

"The police." He explained. "Seems you didn't do a good enough job when talking with the commissioner and now he suspects you."

"Suspects me of what?" She asked.

"Of helping me, of knowing more than you let on. That type of thing." He told her.

"So he's having me followed?" She sighed. This is the last thing she needs right now. "Great. Is that all?"

"Geez, you'd think you would be a little more grateful for the information." He grumbled. "I do this favor for you and I don't get so much as a thank you."

"What do you want from me?" She asked, throwing her hands up in the air. "You are so maddening!"

"I don't know what you mean." He smirked.

"You make me wanna scream and definitely not in the good way." She explained. "You treat me like garbage and then wonder why I would be even remotely attracted to someone like Bruce who actually respects women. You claim to be leaving me alone and depending on me to make the first move but then you come here and send me a note to meet you. You can't be the man I want you to be so leave me alone."

He laughed. "It's easy for you to act all confident and stand up to me now that you have Bruce on your side. But what's gonna happen when he realizes who you really are? I'll tell you what will happen. He'll see that you aren't worthy of him and he'll throw you out on your ass. Then you'll be all alone again."

He walked over to her and whispered in her ear. "But don't worry. I'll be there to pick up the pieces."

She moved away from him, not wanting to deal with him anymore. She knew that what he was saying was probably true. Bruce wouldn't want anything to do with her if he found out about her relationship with the Joker. And the Joker was right. She wasn't worthy of someone like Bruce…not after everything she has done.

"What's the matter?" He asked, taunting her. He enjoyed watching her new and improved attitude start to fade away as he played on her fears. "Did I strike a nerve?"

"No." She denied, rolling her eyes.

"Yes I did." He laughed. "You can't hide things from me. You should know better than that."

She knew that he was trying to bring her down. He didn't like the fact that she came in here with an attitude and a spine so he was trying to bring her back down to her former self. Well she wouldn't let him. She wasn't going to let it show that he was having any effect on her at all, even though he was. She was determined to win.

"You know what I find simply hilarious?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"What's that?" He asked, truly curious.

She laughed and closed the space between them, whispering in his ear. "You couldn't even last a full week without me. Whether or not you want to admit it, you missed me. As for me? I was doing fine. I didn't miss you or want to see you. I moved on, but you…well you couldn't take it."

She walked behind him, letting her hand brush against his back as she got to his other side and continued whispering in his ear. "You just had to come here tonight with your lame excuse of telling me that the police are following me. You wanted to play the 'hero' card, trying to warn me. You could have just left me a note and let that be that. But no! You had to see me and talk to me. Do you want to know why I've been able to move on and you haven't?"

She didn't give him a chance to say anything. Instead, she started walking away from him. As she got to the door, she turned back to him. "I'll give you a hint. It's because you realized you need me." Without waiting for him to say anything, she left the restroom.


	29. Chapter 29

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad to know that there are people who are enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it!

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Lacy got into the car that Bruce had left at the restaurant for her, desperately wanting nothing else but to go home. Seeing the Joker was tiring and only added more stress to her already over-stressed brain. She thought back to what he told her.

She hated to admit it but he was right. If Bruce knew who she really was and what her connection to the Joker was he would hate her. And she wouldn't blame him for it one bit. There are no excuses in the world good enough to justify what she's done, or more accurately, what she hasn't done.

Her lack of action to neutralize the Joker has led to countless deaths, including that of Rachel Dawes. Bruce would never forgive her for that death, yet alone all the other deaths and crimes the Joker has committed. How could he? It's unforgiveable and she can't even forgive herself.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that any kind of relationship between her and Bruce probably would never work out. She would have to lie to him for the rest of their lives and that's not right. On the other hand, the rest of their lives could be short if the Joker carries out his plans to kill Bruce.

No. As much as she's tempted to it wouldn't be fair to start any kind of relationship with Bruce other than possibly friendship, and she wasn't even sure a friendship would be safe.

Her cell phone rang, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Hello?"

"Lacy! I am so glad I got a hold of you!" Chris exclaimed.

"Chris? What's going on?" She asked, wondering why he was calling her so late in the evening.

"Have you seen the news recently?" He asked.

"No." She answered. "I've been out and away from radios and televisions. Why? What's happened?"

"I think it's best if I tell you in person." He replied. "You said you've been out, right? Are you still out?"

"Yes. I'm on my way home." She didn't understand why he wasn't telling her what was going on. "Why?"

"Why don't you come over to my house and I can show you the news report? I think after you see it we should talk." Chris explained.

She sighed. So much for heading straight home. "Ok. I'll be right over."

* * *

The Joker stormed into his warehouse, throwing his jacket on the floor and pacing around the room. He couldn't believe that Lacy had the nerve to insinuate that he needed her! It was preposterous! He was the Joker. He needed no one for anything.

"Is everything ok boss?" One of his guys asked as they approached him.

Without a word, he took out a knife and threw it at the guy who asked the question. The knife pierced through the guy's heart, sending him to the ground with a thud.

"Well that makes things a little better." He smirked, turning his attention to the two guys standing next to the body. "Clean that up and be sure to return the knife to me after it's been cleaned."

He watched the guys rush to get the body out of there and took a deep breath. He cursed himself for letting Lacy have any kind of effect on him at all. It was pathetic.

He realized now that Crane's programming idea would be the only way to ensure that Lacy stayed loyal and kept his secrets. He could apparently no longer rely solely on intimidating her and bringing her down with insults and manipulation.

Her boldness tonight was surprising, irritating, but strangely refreshing in a way. She showed a resilience and stubbornness that he hadn't seen in years. He had to admit that he actually found her incredibly sexy tonight. She had stood up to him before, but tonight seemed different.

He realized that she was starting to revert back to her former self. She was acting the same way she used to before Alexis died. Back then she would keep him in check and wouldn't take shit from anyone.

He started pacing again. It's been a long time since he's thought about Alexis and the life he used to live with her and Lacy. He growled softly. The last thing he wanted to do was think about his former life. It was so common and beneath him. He was so much more than the pathetic husband and father he used to be.

He was the Joker. He was the bad ass villain in Gotham City who didn't care about anyone. He was the one who could happily cause destruction and chaos with a smile on his face. He was the one who decided who lived and died.

He has risen from the depths of obscurity and reached a level of infamy that most can never even dream of. People fear him, and those that don't learn the hard way that they should.

So what if Lacy's words were true and he had missed her. So what if he needed her. That doesn't mean he wouldn't kill her if he had to. And it certainly doesn't mean that he's any less of a bad-ass villain.

His little mental pep talk helped him calm down from his visit with Lacy and now he became focused on the job he had to do. He picked up his phone and dialed.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end answered.

"Crane, how is the programming going? Are you almost done?"

Crane sighed. "You just gave me specifications three hours ago. It's not done yet."

"How much longer is it going to take?" He was getting frustrated.

"I told you it would take me a few days once I got the specifications." Crane reminded him.

"Well why can't you get it done sooner?" The Joker asked.

"Because it takes time to get everything perfect. You don't want me to rush and make a mistake, do you?" Crane asked, getting frustrated with him. He hated when other people tried to hurry his projects.

"No, I guess not." The Joker had to admit that he had a point. He would rather have it perfect than quick.

"By the way, nice handiwork tonight." Crane laughed. "It was quite a show. I especially enjoyed that you slashed him once for every year he was alive."

"Oh, you saw that on the news?" The Joker asked, proud of his earlier work.

"Yeah." Crane admitted. "It was very entertaining."

"Thanks for admiring my work." The Joker responded. "Now stop watching tv and get back to your task."

Crane rolled his eyes. The Joker obviously didn't realize that he wasn't going to blindly take orders. He was his own person and didn't appreciate having orders barked at him. "This is a delicate operation. I'm not going to let you rush me."

"Fine." The Joker sighed. "Just get it done, and the sooner the better."

* * *

Lacy rang the doorbell at Chris' house, nervously waiting for him to open the door. As soon as he did, he pulled her inside and placed her in front of the television. "What is going on Chris? You have me really worried."

"Before I turn it on I have to tell you that I am scared by this." Chris warned before turning on the television.

Lacy watched in horror as she saw the news report on her boss' murder. Her hand immediately flew to her mouth in shock. "Oh my god."

"Now do you see why I am so worried?" Chris asked.

"I can't believe it." She stated. "Well actually I can. I feared this kind of thing would happen but I didn't expect it so soon."

"I don't know what to do Lacy." Chris said, starting to pace around his living room. "I mean, I'm next. I know I'm next. I've got to be next, especially since I can't give him any information about Bruce Wayne that he can use. So I'm of no use to him anymore. He's going to kill me."

Outside, Bruce lurked in the shadows. He had decided that Batman should pay Chris a visit tonight. Before he entered the house though, he saw that his car and driver were waiting outside Chris' house. That meant that Lacy was inside.

Upon closer inspection, he could see the police car which was following her. He snuck around to the back of the house and turned on his surveillance equipment. That way he could hear everything happening inside the house without them knowing about his presence.

She tore her eyes away from the television and walked over to him, standing in his way so that he couldn't continue pacing. "You're not going to die, at least not if I have anything to say about it."

"I mean no disrespect, but how are you going to keep me from dying?" He asked, highly skeptical that she could do anything to stop the Joker.

"I've gotten you some help." Lacy informed him.

"What kind of help?" Chris asked. "Nice men in white coats aren't going to come and take me away, are they?"

"No." She laughed. "It's not that kind of help. I've gotten Bruce to help you."

"Bruce Wayne doesn't like me." Chris pointed out. "Why would he do anything to help me?"

"Because I asked him to." She answered. "He's a really good guy and he wants to help you."

"Ok." Chris replied. He knew that the only reason Bruce agreed to help him was because of Lacy and appreciated that she would go to such lengths to help him. "So how is he going to help me?"

"He's getting you a job in another country. You're going to take your money and move far, far away from here as soon as possible. He's going to get the details worked out in the morning." She explained.

"That's your solution?" He asked. "I'm gonna run away?"

"Yes, although I don't consider it running away. I consider it relocating." She replied, getting frustrated with him and his attitude.

"And how is that supposed to keep me alive?"

"It's going to get you out of Gotham and far away from the Joker." She told him.

"But what will stop him from finding me?" He asked.

"He won't come after you." She assured him. "I'll make sure of that."

He laughed. "I'm curious as to how you're going to do that."

"You don't need to know the details." She wasn't going to tell him part two of her plan. It was for his own good.

"I'm sorry Lacy but I just don't see how this will work." He walked around her and started pacing again. "He'll figure out that I've left town and come after me because I know too much."

"He won't." She sighed.

"But how…"

She interrupted him. "Do you trust me?"

"Lacy, you know I trust you." He stopped pacing and looked at her.

"Then trust that as soon as you're out of the country you'll be safe. He won't come looking for you. Don't focus on how. Just trust me. Ok?" She needed him to drop this subject because she didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"Ok." He relented. He would drop this subject for now, but still wanted to know her grand plan. "I'm sorry if I appeared to be ungrateful or anything. I'm really not. I'm just freaked out by what happened to Mr. Drake."

"It is pretty gruesome." She had to admit. "I can understand why you're freaked out."

"Look, I realize that you've done a lot for me. It took a lot of guts to go to Bruce and ask for his help and I appreciate it. But you didn't tell him details about this, did you?"

"No." She shook her head. "It's for his own good that he doesn't know. In fact, I tried to make it seem like you were involved with the mob."

"I wish." He laughed.

"Can I ask you something else though?"

"What?" She asked, hoping it wasn't a complicated question. She felt like her head was going to explode.

"What's going to happen to Bruce Wayne? I mean, I won't be helping the Joker plot to kill him, but I have a strong feeling that the Joker will continue to plot his demise with or without my help. Are you planning on helping him too?"

"I don't know what's going to happen to Bruce." She answered honestly. "I don't want anything to happen to him and I certainly don't want the Joker to kill him, but I haven't figured out a way to help him yet. I guess I figure you are the priority right now, especially after what happened to Mr. Drake tonight."

"But you do want to help Bruce?" Chris asked.

"Of course I do." She replied. "I just don't know how yet."


	30. Chapter 30

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thank you for all the wonderful feedback! Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty

"Can I ask you another question?" Chris asked after a few moments of silence.

"Sure." She sighed. "What is it?"

"I mean no offense by this," he started off saying, "but what makes you think you take on the Joker like this and not end up like Mr. Drake?"

"What do you mean?" She wasn't sure how to respond so she pretended she didn't understand the question so she would have more time to formulate a response.

"You are interfering with the Joker's plans and trying to stop him. He's not going to like that if he finds out. Yet you're still risking your life. Why?"

"Because you're my friend…"

"I know, I know." He interrupted her. "You say that it's because I'm your friend and you have feelings for Bruce, but I am left to wonder there isn't something else motivating you."

"What else would be motivating me?" She laughed it off.

"I don't know." He shook his head. "Why don't you tell me? Did the Joker do something to someone you cared about? Is it revenge for something?"

She looked over at the clock. "Looks like it's getting late. I should go."

"Lacy, please just tell me. You can trust me. It's just you and me here—no one else."

"There's nothing to tell." She lied.

"I'm trusting you with my life—literally." He pointed out. "Why can't you trust me?"

"It's not a matter of trusting you. There's just really nothing to say." She lied.

"Alright. I'll drop it." He gave up. "If you don't want to tell me I guess I can't make you. But can you please promise me something?"

"Depends on what it is." She chuckled.

"Please don't do anything crazy. I mean you're already standing up to the Joker and trying to foil his plans, which is crazy. But please don't do anything that's going to get yourself killed. I don't want to have to read that you're his next victim."

"I can't promise that." She told him. "I'm sorry."

"Do you have a death wish or something?" He asked, even though he said he would stop talking about this subject. "Is that what this is really about?

"I don't have a death wish." She explained. "I just realize that if anyone is going to try and stop the Joker, they have to be willing to break all their personal rules and do whatever it takes."

"You know, Batman tried to stop him and look how that turned out." Chris pointed out.

"Batman ultimately failed because he didn't break all of his rules." She told him. "He didn't do what needed to be done. He didn't go that extra mile to ensure that the Joker couldn't hurt anyone else."

"And you're going to go that extra mile?" Chris asked.

"Perhaps." She nodded.

"Lacy, you're starting to scare me. What do you have planned?"

"Don't worry about this." She told him. "I'll be ok."

"I can't help but worry about you. You're doing everything you can to help me but you seem oblivious to the fact that your actions could easily get you killed."

"I'm not oblivious to that." She countered.

"Then you just don't care if you die! Is that it?" Chris asked.

"No." She told him.

"Ok. Then come with me." He surprised even himself with that comment, but he found that he meant the invitation. "Come away with me. Save yourself."

"And what about Bruce?" She asked.

"He's rich, Lacy." Chris pointed out. "He'll be fine. He can take care of himself."

"I can't…" There was no way she could leave with Chris, although it was sweet of him to offer.

"Please." He asked again. "I'm not asking you to come with me out of romantic feelings. That's not what this is about. I don't want to see you get hurt and if you stay here, there's a huge possibility that you will."

"I appreciate the offer, I really do." She told him, closing the gap between them and giving him a short hug. "But this is something that I have to do. I know you don't understand it but it's the way it has to be."

"You're right that I don't understand it." Chris agreed.

"Look, it's getting late. I'm gonna go." She started walking towards his door.

"I'll walk you out and make sure you get to your car." He offered, following her out.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She told him, giving him a small smile.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Bye Lacy."

Bruce waited until he saw Lacy leave to enter Chris' house. He entered through the back door in the kitchen and stood in the doorway of the living room, waiting for Chris to notice him. He had heard every word they said and realized that he had a lot to think about now.

Chris had brought up a good point about Lacy's behavior and willingness to help. She was putting herself in a great deal of danger just to help and, just like Chris, he had to wonder why. But that was something that he would have to wait until later to think about. Right now he had a job to do.

Chris walked back into the living room after walking Lacy to the door. He stopped when he saw Batman standing in his house. "What are you doing here?"

"I want some information." Bruce told him.

"About what?" Chris asked, wondering how much information Batman already knew.

"The Joker." Bruce replied.

"Who says I know anything about the Joker?" Chris nervously asked.

"Samuel Drake did." Bruce answered. "Now, you're going to tell me everything you know about the Joker and his plans. So you might want to sit down and get comfortable because this could take awhile."

* * *

Lacy had left Chris' house with the intention of heading straight home but soon found herself telling the driver to take her to another location. Within a few minutes she was standing in front of Bruce's building. She entered the lobby and went up to the security desk.

"May I help you, Miss?" The guy behind the desk asked.

"Yes. I'm here to see Mr. Wayne." Lacy told him.

"Ok. Let me call up there. It will be just a moment." He told her.

She waited while he got on the phone and announced she was there. After a short conversation he hung up the phone.

"Looks like you can go on up." The guy said. "Just be sure to use the elevator on your far left. That's the only one that goes up to Mr. Wayne's penthouse."

"Thank you." She gave him a smile as she walked over to the elevator. The clicking of her heels on the tiled floor echoed in her ears as she wondered what she was doing here. She hadn't intended on coming by, but after leaving Chris' house she found herself not wanting to be alone.

The elevator ride up to the top floor seemed to take forever, even though in reality it probably only took a minute. Once the elevator door opened, she was greeted by Alfred. "Hello Alfred."

"Hello Miss Williams." Alfred smiled.

"I'm very sorry to just drop by unannounced, especially since it's so late." She apologized. "Is Bruce back here yet? He got called away at dinner because of some work crisis."

"No." Alfred shook his head. "He must still be at work."

"I see." She should've realized that Bruce wouldn't be back yet. "You know, I think I'll just leave. Maybe coming here was a mistake…"

"Would you like to wait for him?" Alfred offered. "I'm not sure when he'll be back but you're more than welcome to wait."

"Are you sure?" She asked. "I don't want to bother you."

"You wouldn't be bothering me." He assured her. "I was just getting ready to make some hot cocoa and I wouldn't mind some company. That is, if you don't mind spending a few minutes with me."

"Not at all." She smiled as she followed him into the kitchen.

Alfred filled up the kettle with water and put it on the stove before turning to Lacy. "If you'll excuse me for just a moment. I'll be right back."

"Sure." She nodded, watching him leave. She sat down on a stool and put her purse on the island in the middle of the kitchen. She chose to use this time to reflect on her visit with Chris.

She could understand his initial attitude and hesitance to just flee the country. He is scared of the Joker. She knew all about how that felt. She could even understand his concern for her. His offer to have her go with him when he leaves the country was sweet. But there were so many reasons she would never be able to go.

The first would be the Joker. He wouldn't look for Chris if he was sure that Chris left the country and didn't go the police or Batman for help first. She knew him well enough to know that. But if she went with Chris, he would track them to the ends of the Earth just to find her.

She wasn't being conceited about her importance to the Joker. She was simply aware of his past history. Every time she moved to a different city to try and escape him, he would follow her. There was often days when she wished she had moved to Antarctica or somewhere in Alaska where there aren't a lot of people so that he wouldn't be able to kill.

But no, she chose Gotham City because she thought it was a big enough city that she could hide. Well she was wrong.

She thought back to something that Chris had said to her earlier in the night. _Do you have a death wish or something? _She didn't believe she had a death wish, per se, but she did have a general malaise concerning whether she lived or died.

Let's face it. Her life wasn't that great. Sure she had a fairly nice apartment, a job that she was good at, and then there was Bruce. Bruce was a complicated subject in her mind but there was no question that he was the best part of her life right now.

He made her feel confident and like she mattered. He actually listened to her and respected her. She had fun with him and actually laughed because she enjoyed herself and the company she was keeping. It was something that she hadn't received in a long time and hadn't realized she missed it so much until he brought it back into her life.

But she also had the Joker in her life. And as much as she hated him, there still was a small part of her that loved him. It was pathetic and she hated herself for it, but that small part of her was actually glad to see him tonight. She felt torn between her heart and her mind.

Her mind knew that he was evil and there were no traces of the man she used to love left. Her heart was a different matter though. Her heart still wanted to believe that deep down that man was still there.

But no matter what, she knew that he had to be stopped somehow. If not just to end the torment and pain she was going through, then also for all people in this city. He had been terrorizing people for too long and she knew that it was time for his reign of terror to end. She just had to figure out how to stop him.

"Sorry about that." Alfred apologized as he came back into the kitchen. "There was something I needed to take care of."

"It's no problem." She told him.

The kettle started to whistle so he turned off the stove and got out two cups and the cocoa mix. After fixing the cups he sat one down in front of Lacy. "Here you go Miss Williams."

"Thanks Alfred." She smiled, deciding to wait for a moment to let it cool off before taking a sip. "You know, you can call me Lacy."

"I know, Miss Williams." Alfred chuckled slightly.

She chuckled too. "I'm not going to win that battle, am I?"

"Afraid not Miss." Alfred told her.


	31. Chapter 31

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to everyone reading this! I have some very exciting things coming up in the next few chapters...

Chapter Thirty-One

"You know, maybe I should just go." Lacy told Alfred as she finished her cup of cocoa. She had been waiting for about forty-five minutes and although Alfred had been very nice to stay up with her, she could tell that he was tired. "Who knows when Bruce will get back and I don't want to keep you up."

"I don't mind." Alfred told her.

"Thank you." She said, getting up from the stool.

"I hope you're not thinking of leaving." Bruce told her as he stood in the doorway. He had been watching the two of them talk for a few minutes. He enjoyed seeing her laugh, even if she was laughing at one of the many embarrassing stories that Alfred was telling her about his childhood.

Once he was done talking with Chris he checked his phone and got the message Alfred had left him telling him that Lacy was here. He quickly came home and changed out of his Batman suit so that he could find out why she was here.

He surprised to find out that she was here. He hadn't expected her to drop by, but he wasn't unhappy to see her. His talk with Chris had been very informative, but it was the information he learned by eavesdropping on Lacy's conversation with Chris that really intrigued him right now.

He had to admit that he was kind of suspicious about her motives for helping Chris. And apparently she also wanted to help prevent him from being the next CEO to die in a home invasion at the Joker's hands. While he appreciated her concern for others, he realized that Chris was right.

It didn't make a lot of sense to him why she was so invested in helping. It was possible that she felt like she was already stuck in the middle of this mess since the Joker knew that she was aware of Chris' and Drakes' involvement. If she thought that she was already a target, she might have less reservations about helping others.

But there could be another reason—one that he hadn't uncovered yet. He hated to admit it but Alfred may be right. She may be hiding something else from him.

She turned to face him. "Bruce."

"Hi." He said with a smile.

"Hi." She gave him a small smile.

"Well I think that if neither of you need anything then I will retire for the night." Alfred stated, aware that he was not needed for this.

"Goodnight Alfred." Bruce nodded.

"And thank you for the cocoa." Lacy added. "It was nice talking to you."

"You too Miss Williams." Alfred smiled before leaving the kitchen.

Bruce waited until Alfred was out of the kitchen before speaking. "So this is a surprise."

"Yeah, I'm sorry to just drop by like this." She apologized.

"It's not a problem." He assured her.

"Did you get the crisis at work settled?" She asked.

"The what?" He quickly remembered that was the cover he used to leave her at the restaurant. "Oh, yeah. Everything is fine now."

"That's good." She smiled. "I'm glad."

"So what brings you by?" He asked, pretending not to know about Mr. Drake's murder. As Batman, he knew about it and he knew that Lacy was aware too. But as Bruce he decided to play dumb. "I hope you're not mad that I had to leave."

"No." She shook her head. "I came by to thank you for dinner. When I asked you to dinner I didn't expect you to pay."

"Well what kind of gentleman would I be if I made you pay?" He asked. "Would you like to go into the living room and sit down?"

"Sure." She followed him out to the living room and sat on the side of the couch opposite where he was sitting.

"You didn't have to come all the way over here to thank me for dinner though." He told her.

"That's not necessarily the only reason." She explained. "Have you seen the news recently?"

"No." He lied. "Why?"

"It looks like the Joker killed my boss, Mr. Drake, tonight." She told him.

"Really?" He pretended to be surprised. "How'd he do it?"

She sighed. "He stabbed him about forty-seven times and hung him out on his front porch."

"Wow. Why Mr. Drake though?" Bruce asked, already knowing the answer. "Why did the Joker target him?"

"I don't know." She lied, knowing that she couldn't tell him the whole truth.

"Were you close to your boss?" He asked.

"I worked for him for two years." She answered. "I wasn't his best friend, but I knew him."

"I'm sorry." He moved closer to her on the couch and put his arm around her shoulder.

"I don't know why I'm so shaken up over this." She admitted, letting her head rest on his shoulder.

"It's only natural. He was your boss and it's quite a shock." He reasoned.

She took a few deep breaths and then pulled away from him. "Look, it's getting late and I should let you get some sleep. I don't even know why I came by. I just found myself gravitating towards this place."

"It's ok. I don't mind you being here. I actually kind of enjoy it." He admitted. "But you are right. It is late. Why don't you just stay here tonight? The guest room can be all yours again."

She gave him a smile. "That's sweet but I can't impose on you. I already feel like a moocher."

"Why do you feel like a moocher?" He laughed.

"Because you keep paying for dinner, you let me stay here yesterday, and you're helping me with the Chris situation." She explained. "I feel like a moocher and I don't want you to think that I'm using you for anything, because I'm not."

"I don't think you are using me." He told her. "I promise."

"Still, I should go home." She got up from the couch.

He got up too and lightly grabbed her arm, which made her turn to face him. "At least let me take you home. I sent my driver home and it's not safe for you to go home alone."

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes." He answered. "Though there is something I would like to talk to you about before we leave, if that's ok."

"Sure." She nodded, pulling her arm out of his grasp and crossing her arms across her chest. "What is it?"

"The kiss." He said. "We kissed tonight." Although there were other things that he probably should be talking to her about, he chose this because he felt like he needed to know where she stood on this issue. He would deal with everything else later.

"I know." Even though a lot of things had happened since, she still remembered the feel of his lips on hers. It was a good feeling but she had to remind herself that it wasn't something that could be repeated. She had to find a way to make sure that she wouldn't be tempted to start anything up with Bruce.

A part of her really wanted to be in a relationship with him, but then there was the Joker. He complicated everything in her life. Until he's dealt with once and for all, it would be unfair to start any kind of relationship with Bruce or any other guy.

"So what are your thoughts on it?" He asked when he realized she wasn't going to volunteer her opinion.

"I don't know." She shook her head and looked at the floor. "It was a good kiss."

"Yeah." He chuckled softly. "It was."

"I don't think it can be repeated though." She told him, bringing her eyes up to meet his.

"Why?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. "Because I don't know about you but I feel like there is something between us. Am I crazy or something?"

"There is something there." She assured him. "You aren't crazy. It's just that this thing between us, whatever it is, won't work out in the end."

"Why not?" He wondered if he kept lightly prodding her if she would tell him about hers and Chris' connection to the Joker. While he already knew about it as Batman, it would be a lot easier if he, as Bruce, could know about it too.

"It's complicated." She told him. "Trust me. I know what I'm talking about. A relationship with me will only cause you pain."

"I don't understand." He told her as he moved closer to her, but for every step he took towards her, she took a step back. "Lacy…"

"Bruce, please." She interrupted. "We can be friends, but nothing more. I'm sorry but that is the way things have to be. I can't handle anything more and it wouldn't be fair to you if I let this go any further. I shouldn't have let it go this far. Please try to understand and don't push me on this."

He sighed. "Is it because of your husband?"

She panicked for a moment that he knew about Jack being the Joker. "What do you mean?"

"Is this hesitance to enter into a relationship with me because you're still not over your late husband?" He asked. "I'm not trying to be rude or anything. I'm just trying to understand."

"Oh." She breathed a sigh of relief and realized that she was just being paranoid earlier. She wasn't sure how to answer the question until she had an epiphany. "I guess that's the main reason. I mean, I haven't really been with anyone seriously since Jack."

"So what's the other reason?" He asked. "You said that was the main reason. So what's the other one?" He could understand that she was hesitant to start a new relationship because of her husband. He had been able to tell from the beginning that she loved her husband very much. It would be normal for her to still have unresolved feelings for him.

"You scare me." She replied.

"How so?" He didn't understand.

"You are a great guy and anyone would be lucky to have you in their life. But the thing that really scares me is the fact that you are almost exactly like Jack. There are so many similarities that it's freaky and I guess I don't know how to deal with that."

It was true. They were so much alike. There were many times when Bruce would do something or act in a way that would remind her of the way that Jack used to be.

"I don't know how to respond to that." Bruce told her honestly. "I guess I'm sorry? I don't mean to remind you of him."

"I know." She nodded. "It's not your fault. It's mine." An idea suddenly formed in her mind, it was a way to try and make sure that she didn't enter into a relationship with Bruce. "I guess if I'm truly honest with myself, I sort of sought out a relationship with you in an attempt to recreate what I had with Jack. But it's not fair to you."

"So you don't have feelings for me?" Bruce asked. He wasn't sure if he believed her story or not. He prided himself on being a good judge of women and could have sworn that the kiss tonight wasn't about her husband.

"No, I do have feelings for you." She clarified. "I'm just not emotionally available. I'm not stable enough to have a real relationship. There are too many ghosts hanging around me and it's not fair…"

"I know. It's not fair to me." Bruce interrupted. "That seems to be the phrase of the day around here."

"Please don't be mad at me." She pleaded.

"I'm not mad at you." He assured her. "I can't be mad at you for the way you feel. I will say I am disappointed, but I'm not mad."

"Are we still friends?" She asked. "Cause I'll understand if you don't want to be…"

"We're still friends." He told her. "Just promise me something, ok?"

"Ok, well it depends on what you want me to promise." She replied.

"If things ever change…"

Knowing what he was going to say, she interrupted him. "You'll be the first person in line. You're a good man Bruce." She went over and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I wish things could be different."

"Me too." He gave her a small smile. "Now, let's get you home."

* * *

"We haven't found anything on Lacy that can connect her to the Joker." Detective Gonzalez reported to Commissioner Gordon. "Since we've been watching her, the only people she's gone to see are Bruce Wayne and Chris Stevens."

"Who is Chris Stevens?" Gordon asked.

"A co-worker of hers at Ace Consulting." Gonzalez replied, sitting in a chair across from Gordon. "There's been nothing out of the ordinary. Do you still want us to continue following her?"

"Yes." Gordon replied. "I have a feeling she could lead us to the Joker. Continue following her."


	32. Chapter 32

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to everyone reading and/or reviewing! Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Two

Lacy's high heeled shoes made a rhythmic clicking noise as she walked down the street towards her destination. It had been a restless and sleepless night for her, due to the thoughts swirling around in her head.

The one thing that kept popping into her head the most were Chris' comments to her last night. _What makes you think you take on the Joker like this and not end up like Mr. Drake?_ Although she knew she was slightly more important to the Joker than Mr. Drake she had no preconceived notions that she was too important to him. She knew that there was a very good possibility that she wouldn't live to see her next birthday in a few months.

_You are interfering with the Joker's plans and trying to stop him. He's not going to like that if he finds out. _Chris was right about that. Interfering with the Joker's plans was a very good way of getting yourself on his bad side, and there's nothing worse in this world than being on his bad side.

_Do you have a death wish or something?_ This was the one comment Chris said last night that really got stuck in her head. Until last night she didn't think that she had a death wish. While she didn't fear death, she had never been the type to take foolish risks. But now…She was insinuating herself even more into the Joker's life by intervening on Chris'' behalf.

Trying to get Chris out of the country and away from the Joker, as well as trying to figure out a way to keep Bruce safe, very well could be foolish risks. There was no guarantee that they would be able to get Chris out of the country safely and she wasn't even sure yet how to begin helping Bruce.

Her conscience was heavy with guilt and she realized that she needed to find a way to let go of it. That's why she got up early this morning and headed to her current destination—Our Lady of Gotham.

She stopped in the doorway of the church, watching as people passed by her on their way out. She realized that she had missed the early morning church service, but that wasn't why she came here anyway. The organist was playing a slow adagio, one that usually was reserved for funerals, and she wondered briefly if it was a sign from God.

After hesitating, she made her way over to the confession booths. Taking a deep breath, she entered the booth and sat down. "Hello?"

"Hello. My name is Father Vince." The priest greeted.

"Forgive me Father Vince; it has been too many years since my last visit to a church and even longer since my last confession."

"That's alright dear," the priest on the other side assured her. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you stop coming by?"

"I stopped coming after my daughter died." She answered solemnly.

"I'm sorry." The priest told her. "It's always difficult to watch a child be buried before their parent."

"Thank you." She nodded. "I guess after that happened everything in my life fell apart. Everything's just snowballed and now I don't know what to do anymore."

"So what has brought you back here? Do you need God's direction?"

"I need absolution." She replied.

"Well why don't you tell me what you have done?" The priest asked.

"It's not necessarily what I've done so much as what I haven't done." She explained. "You see, I have this person in my life who at one time I loved more than anything in the world. They were the most important person in my life. And now, well let's just say that they have changed dramatically."

"How so?" He wasn't sure he understood why she needed absolution.

She realized she had to be careful with what she said. Although confessions with a priest were considered confidential, that confidentiality could be breeched if the priest felt he had a duty to save someone's life. So she definitely could not tell him about Chris or Bruce.

"This person has done countless things which go against the Bible and God in general. And while I haven't known they were going to do these acts prior to it, I have been aware of them after the fact yet I haven't done anything to stop them."

"Am I correct in assuming that these acts you speak of are illegal?" The priest asked.

"You would be correct." She agreed.

"And you haven't gone to the police about this person and their activities?" He assumed that she hadn't but wanted to make sure he had a clear picture of the situation.

"That's right." She told him. "Many people have been affected by my silence in many ways. I guess what I need is to clear my conscience and get absolution from someone. This has been eating me up inside for years not and I can't deal with it alone anymore. I thought that if anyone would be able to give me that absolution that I need it would be God."

"God is forgiving and he does not hold a grudge." He spoke. "You were correct in thinking that God can grant you absolution, but it won't be easy."

"I'm ready." She assured him. "I just need to get this off my chest."

"Vey well then." He told her. "In order to grant absolution, I must know exactly what you feel guilty about. And please don't worry. Anything you say in here is confidential."

"Ok." She replied, getting ready to tell him the general details.

* * *

"Can I help you with something?" Sophie, Bruce's secretary, asked as the man approached her desk.

"Yes. I certainly hope so. Is Mr. Wayne in right now? I'd like to talk to him." Chris asked.

"He is." She confirmed. "Your name is Chris, right?"

"Yes. Chris Stevens."

"Ok." She smiled. "I thought so. I've seen you around here. Hold on just a moment and I'll see if taking visitors." She picked up the phone and had a short conversation with Bruce. Setting the phone down, she motioned to the door. "You can go right in."

"Thank you." He smiled, heading into Bruce's office.

"Chris." Bruce acknowledged him as soon as he entered the doorway.

"Thanks for agreeing to see me without an appointment or anything." Chris said, sitting in a chair across from Bruce's desk.

"No problem." Bruce replied. "In fact, I was going to see if you were in the building soon anyway."

"Really?" Chris questioned.

"Yes." Bruce nodded. "I've made some calls this morning and I have some good news. You can on a plane out of this country at midnight tonight."

"Really?" He questioned again.

"Yes." Bruce replied.

"Wow." Chris couldn't believe that everything was happening so fast. "That's quick."

"Lacy led me to believe that the sooner you got out of the country, the better off you'd be." Bruce explained. "Do you have a problem with leaving tonight?"

"No." He answered. "I just wasn't expecting it, but its' fine. It's actually more than fine. It's great." If he left tonight then maybe he could get out of the country before the Joker found out he planned on leaving. Maybe he could escape this.

"Great." Bruce said. "So you will be going to Switzerland. I've arranged for my private plane to fly you there. When you get to the airport there will be a car and a driver waiting for you. They will take you to your new apartment. I've also arranged for you to have a job at one of the companies Wayne Enterprises owns."

"I don't know what to say." Chris was speechless at the amount of effort Bruce was using to make sure that he was taken care of. He knew that it wasn't because of any feelings of friendship towards him. Bruce didn't really like him. He could tell that even now.

No, this effort to help was because of Lacy. He realized that Bruce must really like and respect Lacy in order to go to such lengths to help one of her friends. If she wasn't going to come with him to Switzerland so that he could hopefully protect her from the Joker, then at least she was going to be here with Bruce. Maybe he could protect her.

"You don't have to say anything." Bruce told him.

"Yes I do." Chris paused for a moment. "This…everything that you are dong to help me…it's wonderful. I can't thank you enough. Honestly, when Lacy first told me her plan to get me out of the country I was skeptical. But I think it might actually work."

"I hope it does." Bruce added.

"There's just one more thing I need from you." Chris said.

Bruce sighed. "What? Do you need money?"

"No." Chris shook his head. "I don't need that. I need you to protect Lacy."

"Protect her from…?" Bruce asked.

"The ones who are after me." Chris explained. "If they find out that she helped me, then they could come after her and I don't want to see that. She's a good person and doesn't deserve that."

"No, she doesn't." Bruce agreed. "So why did you bring her into this?"

"I…" Chris didn't know what to say.

"Why did you bring her into your mess?" Bruce repeated the question. It was a question that he still didn't know the answer to. It seemed to him that Lacy's problems started when she began investigating the link between her company and the Joker. That's when she was attacked by the Joker's goons and then she was targeted at the fundraiser. And now she was trying to help Chris, who admitted to him last night that he was working for the Joker, escape the country. She was putting herself in danger to help Chris. What she didn't know was why Chris was letting her.

"I didn't mean to bring her into my mess." Chris told him."I really didn't. She tricked me into admitting everything and then she practically took over. She's very stubborn. I tried to get her to come with me so that maybe she would be safe, but she refused."

Bruce already knew that since he had eavesdropped on their conversation last night. He still felt bad about doing that, but he did learn some good information.

"I just need to know that you'll look after her and make sure nothing happens to her." Chris continued. "She likes you and, if I'm not overstepping my boundaries, I think you like her too."

Bruce didn't say anything. The subject of Lacy was a sore one with him. "Don't worry about Lacy. I'll make sure she's ok."

"Thank you." Chris replied.

"You better go get everything settled for your trip tonight." Bruce told him.

"I will." Chris got up. "And I can't thank you enough for this."

* * *

"There are two requirements, so to speak, for absolution." The priest told Lacy. "First you must be truly sorry for your sins. Are you truly sorry?"

"Yes Father. I am." Lacy replied.

"And the second requirement is that you must intend to never commit these sins again. This means that you can no longer be in this person's life, and if you are, then you must not turn your head and look away while they commit sins. You must make them be accountable for their actions. Can you do that?"

He had said she must make him accountable for his actions, and while she knew he meant by ratting him out to the police, she couldn't help but think that maybe she could exercise a more vigilante form of accountability. "I can, Father."

"Good." He smiled. "Then I want you to recite the Act of Contrition three times a day, everyday for a month."

"Ok." She nodded.

"God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son, has reconciled the world to Himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

He was silent for a moment before continuing to speak. "My dear, your sins have been absolved."

"Thank you Father." She told him, already feeling better. "You have no idea how much this has helped."

"I am glad. Is there anything else I can do for you today?" He offered.

"No." She laughed. "You've done enough for me. Have a good day Father."

"Peace be with you." He told her.

"And also with you." She replied before leaving to go to work.

* * *

"Thank you for the information, Sophie." The Joker told her before hanging up the phone. So, Lacy had enlisted Bruce's help in getting Chris out of the country. He couldn't help but laugh. "If Lacy thinks for one second that she can mess with my plans, then she's mistaken. Perhaps its' time to show her just who is in charge here."


	33. Chapter 33

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Sorry about the little bit of a cliffhanger at the end of this chapter!

Chapter Thirty-Three

After leaving the church, Lacy felt renewed. Talking with the priest and going to confession made her feel a lot better. Although she hadn't given the priest specific details about the Joker, she had told him enough that her conscience didn't feel quite so overwhelming.

One thing stood out in her mind though. _You must intend to never commit these sins again. This means that you can no longer be in this person's life, and if you are, then you must not turn your head and look away while they commit sins. You must make them be accountable for their actions._

You must make them be accountable for their actions. Well that was easier said than done when talking about the Joker. Still, she couldn't help but entertain the idea of causing a little chaos of her own. There had to be something that she could do to him, something to pay him back for everything he has done to her and his other victims.

She'd been thinking about how to get revenge on him and how to stop him from hurting anyone else for awhile now, but until now she didn't feel like she could be strong enough to actually pull it off. She had thought that it was just a nice daydream she let herself get immersed in, but now, well now she was starting to think that she could do it. After all, she had to. It was part of her penance.

She entered her office at Wayne Enterprises feeling better than she had in a long time. She figured she could come up with the details and plans later. She had only been working for a few minutes before there was a knock on her door.

"Come in." She hoped it wasn't Bruce. She wasn't ready to see him yet, afraid that their meeting would be awkward and weird considering what she had told him last night.

"Hey." Chris greeted with a smile, coming into her office and closing the door. He sat down.

"Hey." She greeted back. "You seem like you are in a good mood today. Feeling better?"

"A little." He admitted. "Bruce has everything set up for me already. I leave tonight to go to Switzerland."

"Wow." She couldn't believe that Bruce already had everything set up. Granted he had told them that he would try to get everything set up this morning, but it was only 9 am. He must have gotten up early to take care of it. "That was fast."

"Yeah." Chris agreed. "I thought it was quick too. He's sending me out on his private plane tonight at midnight."

"I'm glad." She smiled. "By this time tomorrow you will be far, far away from this whole mess and free to live the rest of your life."

"Unless the Joker finds me." Chris pointed out.

"He won't." She assured him.

"We'll see." Chris replied. He didn't want to be too hopeful about his chances of living a long life without the Joker's interference. It would be nice to live in Switzerland. It was definitely something he never expected to happen.

"Well I'm happy for you." She told him. "It's kind of exciting to be able to start a new life somewhere. You can be whoever you want because no one will know who you are, what you've done, what you regret…" In a way she envied him for getting to go somewhere new. But she was happy for him and hoped it would all work out. She was definitely going to do her best to make sure it did.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" He offered one last time.

"I'm sure." She answered. "I have to stay here."

"Ok." He relented, choosing not to argue his case because he knew she was stubborn. If she didn't agree the first few times he asked, then she wasn't going to now. "I'll drop it. Just thought I would ask."

"I appreciate it," she smiled, "but we both know why I have to stay here."

"Yeah." He knew why. She was hell-bent on protecting both him and Bruce. He worried it would get her killed.

"So are you all ready to go?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Almost." He answered. "I have my bags packed and I found my passport. But I'm waiting until closer to midnight to go get the other thing I need."

It took her a moment to realize that the other thing he was talking about was the money that he had stored away. "Ah, yes. That other thing."

"Lacy, I just want to say…"

"You don't have to." She told him, knowing that he was going to thank her again. "I'm just trying to help."

"And I can't thank you enough." He smiled. "Even if for whatever reason this doesn't work, I want you to know that no one has ever done anything like this for me. I'm blown away by your willingness to try and help. I'll never forget this and if there's anything I can ever do to repay you, just let me know."

"Thanks." She told him, getting up from her chair and walking around the desk. "But unlike you, I still have to get some work done today. So you better go."

"I will." He told her, enveloping her in a hug. "Thank you Lacy." He kissed her on the cheek.

"You're welcome Chris." She replied, letting go and giving him a smile. "Be safe."

"You too." He winked before leaving.

Once he was gone she went back to her chair and sat. She turned it around so that she could look outside. For the first time she noticed that although the sun was out there were dark clouds approaching. It looked like it might rain today.

* * *

The sound of classical music filled the cramped apartment. There were several tables in the living room, all filled with loose papers and drawings. Sitting at a table next to the window was Dr. Crane, busily scribbling on a piece of paper.

If he was going to get the formula for the Joker's request correct he needed complete concentration. That's why he had the classical music on. He always seemed to do his best work while listening to beautiful arias or concertos.

"Freeze! Police!" A cop yelled as he entered the apartment with five other men. "You're under arrest.

Crane put his hands up, not sure why he was being arrested. "And what is the charge? Is my music too loud?"

"Ha ha. The music's the least of your problems." One of the cops said as he slapped handcuffs on him and started reading him his rights.

"Oh come on!" Crane yelled after being read his rights. "What's this about?"

"We've gotten reports that you are kidnapping and torturing men, saying that you will change their personality." The cop explained.

"Well that's just ridiculous!" Crane laughed, rolling his eyes. "Who would ever be able to change someone's personality?"

"Not you apparently." The cop laughed. "Cause your experiments are the ones who ratted you out." He practically shoved Crane into the squad car.

* * *

That night, after everyone had left the office, Bruce decided to go down and see if Lacy was still in her office. He had been avoiding her all day, afraid that their next meeting would be awkward. He wasn't going to lie. It hurt to hear that she wanted to be just friends and nothing more.

There was a part of him that wanted to pursue a more romantic relationship with her at some point, and while he still hoped that maybe that would be an option later on, he still wanted to be her friend.

So in the interest of preserving their friendship he decided to go see her and tell her about Chris leaving tonight. He was certain that Chris had already told her of his plans to leave the country tonight and knew that she would see through his flimsy excuse but didn't care.

When he got to her office he found the door already open. She was busy working at her desk, pausing only momentarily to brush a piece of hair out of her face. He stood there watching her for a moment before knocking on the door. "Working late again?"

She recognized the voice as Bruce's and didn't look up. "Yeah. There's still a lot to do, especially since I'll be short one person tomorrow."

"So Chris told you?" He asked.

"Of course he did." She replied, still not looking up. It wasn't that she was afraid to look at him as much as she was ashamed. She had been leading him on to think that there was a possibility for something to happen between them when the reality was that nothing could ever happen between them.

Even if the Joker was dead, Bruce wouldn't want her if he found out her true connections to the Joker. He would be disgusted and would never be able to look at her the same way again. She couldn't blame him for it either.

No, she did the right thing last night when she told him that they couldn't start a relationship. Maybe if she kept telling herself that it would eventually sink into her brain.

"How are you?" He asked, wondering why she couldn't look at him. Was she annoyed by his presence? Should he leave?

"You mean aside from being swamped with work?" She chuckled. "Fine, I guess. I went back over today for a company meeting. There's a lot of sadness and tears over there."

"It's a difficult thing to lose someone, especially in such a horrific way." He observed.

"There's talk that the board of directors has already hired a new guy to replace Mr. Drake and that he will start tomorrow." She told him.

"That's rather soon, isn't it?" Bruce asked. He knew that the company had to keep going forward but replacing the guy only two days after his death seemed harsh.

"I think so," she agreed, "but I'm not in charge so I get no say in the matter."

"Um, Lacy?" He spoke after a few moments of silence.

"Yes?" She answered, still not looking up from her papers.

"Do you want me to leave or something?" He asked. She didn't seem like she wanted him around. "Cause it looks like you're annoyed with me for even being here."

"It's not that. Really." She assured him, finally looking up at him. "I just…this is awkward."

"It doesn't have to be." He commented.

"How so?" She asked, cracking a small smile.

He took the smile as an invitation to come in and sat down. "Well we may not be together, but we're friends, right?"

"Right." She agreed. "That is, if you still want to be friends with me."

"I do." He told her. "So if we're friends then there is no reason for this to be awkward."

"So we can forget that last night happened?" She asked.

"If that's what you want." He gave her a small smile.

"Ok." She nodded. "Good." There were a few moments of silence between them until she spoke again. "You know, I don't think I've had a chance to thank you for getting Chris out of the country so soon. I didn't expect everything to happen this quickly but it's great. Hopefully he can get out before they realize he's planning on running."

"That's what I was hoping for." Bruce told her. "You made it seem like it was extremely important he left as soon as possible, so I did my best."

"You did great." She praised. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how glad I am that he's going to be far, far away from Gotham."

"It was no problem." He assured her. "You know…" He was going to offer to have dinner brought in for them, as friends, but was interrupted by her cell phone.

"Excuse me, I have to take this." She apologized, reaching into her purse and pulling out her phone. "Hello?"

"Lacy!" Chris' voice rang through the phone.

"Chris." Lacy smiled. "Were your ears burning? I was just talking about you to Bruce. So what's going on? Shouldn't you be getting ready to leave?"

"I kind of ran into a small problem getting ready and I need your help." Chris explained. "Do you think you can meet me at my office at Acer Consulting in about twenty minutes?"

"Uh, what kind of problem?" She asked, curious as to why he would need to meet with her. They had already said their goodbyes and everything. There was something not right about his tone of voice.

"I don't really want to talk about it on the phone." He told her. "It's about those plans I told you about last week. I have some new instructions for you. Can you please just meet me over here?"

"Sure, I guess so." She told him. "I'm at Wayne Enterprises right now. I guess I'll leave in a few minutes."

"Good. Thanks Lacy. See you then."

The phone went dead after that and she hung up. "Chris needs to see me about something." She thought about his words and his tone of voice. In seconds, everything clicked in her mind as she had a realization.

"I have to go right now." She picked up her purse. "I'm sorry Bruce, but I have to go. I think Chris is in trouble." Without waiting for Bruce's reaction, she ran out of the office. Hopefully she wouldn't be too late.


	34. Chapter 34

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Four

Lacy parked her car on the sidewalk and got out immediately, not bothering to take the keys out of the ignition or pick up her purse. There was no time for that. She had a very bad feeling about this and hoped that she was wrong. But her gut was telling her that the Joker had found out about Chris' plans to leave the country. If that was true, she had to work fast to make sure he didn't die tonight.

It had started raining earlier that afternoon and hadn't stopped since but she didn't notice the rain as she ran almost a block to enter the Ace Consulting building. She wanted to catch her breath but knew that there was no time. She ran up to the security guard's table to check in but was horrified to see that the two security guards were slumped over in their chairs. She took a closer look and saw that they had been shot through the head execution style.

"Oh my God." She whispered, immediately knowing that she had been right. "Chris." She ran over to the elevators, feverishly pushing the buttons and waiting for one of the three elevators to open up. "I hope I'm not too late." After a few moments the elevator on the far left opened up and she rushed over to get in, wishing she hadn't.

She entered the elevator and saw that the words 'ha ha ha ha' were repeatedly painted on the walls in what looked like blood and there was a note taped to the back wall. She really hoped that it wasn't blood, but has a sinking suspicion that it was. The note had her name on it, and she immediately recognized the handwriting as the Jokers'.

She heard the ding of the elevator signifying that the doors were closing and turned her head around to watch the doors close. As she turned, she noticed there were lots of red specks falling onto her cream colored blouse. She looked down and saw that the floor was coated in the red substance and she prayed it wasn't blood. Slowly looking up at the ceiling, she almost became sick at what she saw.

Tied to the ceiling of the elevator was Chris' body. It was been slashed too many times to even count and the blood was trickling down. She could only look at it for a moment before turning away, pressing the buttons on the elevator to try and get the doors to open but it was no use. They weren't opening, in fact, the elevator wasn't moving at all. She opened up the emergency telephone and tried to get anyone to hear her but the line was dead.

She had to face the facts. With the security guards dead, the emergency phone dead, and no one knowing that she was stuck in here, she could be facing a long stay in this elevator. She looked back up at Chris again. There was no way he was still alive. There was too much blood on the floor.

Biting back tears, she moved off to a corner of the elevator where she wasn't getting pelted by as many falling blood drops and opened the Joker's note.

_My dear Lacy, _

_I regret that I am unable to hand deliver this note to you but I am a very busy man and have other business to attend to tonight. Let me start off by letting you know that I am extremely disappointed with you. You should know better than to go against me and interfere in my plans. Yes, I know that you were trying to get your "boyfriend" to smuggle Chris out of the country before I could have my fun with him. That was not nice at all and I do not appreciate it…not…one…bit._

_I have tried to extend certain kindnesses to you considering our past but now I see that was a mistake. It has only given you a false sense of security and made you think you are immune. So perhaps it is time to stop sheltering you from my wrath. By now you have probably realized that you are trapped in here. You could be stuck in here for minutes, or hours, or even possibly longer than that. Who really knows? I guess it depends on how long it takes dear Bruce to realize that you're not in his bed. _

_And that's another thing that I will no longer shield you from—my anger over your dalliances with Bruce Wayne. You seem to have forgotten that you are a married woman, and as a married woman it is not appropriate to be dating a guy who isn't your husband. It's especially not appropriate to be having sex with anyone other than your husband. I'm kept up my end of the vows all these years. Can you honestly say the same? _

_But that is something I will address with you at a later time. For now, I hope you enjoy your quality time with Chris. And let this be a warning to you. Stay out of my business. If you get in my way one more time I will not hesitate to kill you. Don't be fooled into believing that you mean anything to me. I will kill you without a second thought._

_All my eternal love,  
J_

_P.S. Isn't it ironic that you were trying to save Chris from a violent death and instead only brought it upon him? I was actually going to let him live until I heard about your plans. Now look at him. _

_Also, don't worry. He won't bleed forever. Sooner or later he will run out of blood. Sorry if you were wearing something you really liked. Blood is always difficult to wash out of clothes. In your case I think it will be impossible._

She stuffed the note into her pants pocket. She couldn't worry about the Joker's threats to her right now, although she was worried about what else he could possibly have in store for her since he was under the false impression that she has slept with Bruce. But she couldn't worry about that right now. She would deal with that once she got out of here.

Her hopes of getting out of her became renewed when she remembered her cell phone. "Shit!" Since she was in a hurry to get here, she left her purse in her car. She hurried up to the elevator door and started banging on it, anxious to get out of there. Then she remembered that the building had been equipped with thick, soundproof elevators. It was a piece of trivia she had picked up from a co-worker during her first week here.

Since there was no way of anyone hearing her if she pounded her fists against the door she decided to stop. All she saw was blood. It was everywhere and she couldn't escape it. Truthfully it was messing with her mind. She was starting to freak out and get claustrophobic. She backed away, taking a look at her clothes. They were soaked with his blood.

No matter where she seemed to stand in the elevator she got blood on her, whether it was from blood dripping down on her or blood that had splattered onto the sides of the elevator. It was like it was swallowing her up into an abyss.

The one thought that kept entering her mind was that this was all her fault. Whether or not he was telling the truth in the letter about originally wanting to let Chris go or not, the truth remained that this was her fault. She had failed Chris. She had sworn to him and to herself that she would protect him and get him safely away from the Joker. She had counted on it and now…well now he's died a horrible and truly macabre death.

She couldn't believe that he was still bleeding. How much blood could he have? She went back to the back corner and slid down the side of the elevator. She soon found herself sitting in a small pool of Chris' blood, but at this point she didn't care anymore. She just hoped that someone found her soon.

* * *

Bruce entered the ace Consulting building, looking for Lacy. He didn't even know what floor she would be on so he went to the security guard table. There he found the dead guards and was glad that he had called the police on his way over here.

He knew that something wasn't right when Chris called Lacy. He had the same bad feeling that Lacy seemed to have. So as soon as she left he called the police and headed over here. Finding the security guards dead only intensified the bad feeling he had. He went over to the elevators and pressed the button, only to be frustrated when none of the elevators opened. He took a look and realized that none of them were moving.

He was about to use the stairs when he caught the sight of a pool of red in front of the elevator on the far left. He walked over and bent down, examining the red spot. It didn't take long to realize that it was blood, and it was coming from inside the elevator.

Careful not to step into the blood, he banged on the door. "Hello! Is anyone in there? Can anyone hear me?" He hoped that Lacy wasn't in there and that the blood didn't belong to her. He tried to pry the door open with his bare hands but found that it wasn't going to budge. He would need a crowbar or something to gain leverage.

He went over and searched behind the security guard's desk. That's what he was doing when the police came in.

"Freeze!" One of the officers shouted.

Since there were six people with guns pointed directly at him, Bruce put his hands up. "My name is Bruce Wayne. I'm the one that called you over here." That made them lower their weapons.

One of the cops stepped forward. "Mr. Wayne, I'm Officer Sullivan. What can you tell us?"

"These men," he motioned to the security guards, "have been killed. I believe that there's someone in the elevator." He pointed to the elevator on the far left. "There appears to be blood coming out from the door. I was just looking for a crowbar or something to pry it open with."

"Ok." Sullivan nodded. "We'll take it from here, sir. Why don't you go wait outside?"

"No." Bruce objected. "I want to stay and help. I have reason to believe that my friend may be in that elevator. I'm not leaving."

"Sir, maybe you misunderstood me. That wasn't a question." Sullivan told him.

"Maybe you misunderstood me." Bruce countered. "I'm not leaving. Now get me a crowbar so I can open the elevator."

Sullivan decided not to push the subject. He had a feeling he wouldn't be able to win this argument. He would simply just keep an eye on Mr. Wayne to make sure that he didn't do anything to compromise any evidence in the crime scene. He sighed and looked over to his partner. "Go get the crowbar from the trunk."

Sullivan then looked to the rest of his men. "I want the rest of you to search the building." He pointed to two of them. "You two start on the top floor and work your way down." He then pointed to the other two. "You start on the second floor and work your way up."

Within moments his partner was back with a crowbar. Bruce yanked it from their hands and went back to the elevator. After a few good tugs he managed to pry it open. What he saw when the doors parted broke his heart. There was Lacy sitting on the floor with blood all around her. It was on the walls, the floor and her.

"Lacy!" He exclaimed, hurrying into the elevator and kneeling beside her. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

His voice seemed far away to her, probably because she was still lost in her own thoughts. She didn't answer his question because, truthfully, she didn't know how to answer. Physically she wasn't hurt. But there were several other ways for a person to be hurt, and she felt them all. She had to admit that she was glad to see Bruce though.

He helped her get up and looked her over, trying to see if any of the blood on her body was her own. "Where did this blood come from?"

She didn't say anything, just looked up at the ceiling.

Bruce looked up with her and was horrified to see Chris tied up to the ceiling. So it was Chris' blood. He couldn't imagine what it must have been like to be stuck in the elevator with Chris strung up and blood surrounding her. "Everything's going to be ok. You're going to be ok."

She didn't say anything, not sure what to say. He was wrong. Everything wasn't going to be ok and she definitely wasn't going to be ok. She had a feeling that things were only going to get worse from now on.


	35. Chapter 35

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: A big thank you to everyone who is reading and/or reviewing this story. Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Five

"Miss, are you hurt anywhere?" The paramedic asked Lacy.

Bruce and the cops had directed her outside to a waiting ambulance after Bruce got her out of the elevator. The paramedic had already gotten her a towel and washed the blood off of her face and hands. Now he was trying figure out if she had been hurt and was asking a ton of questions. While she knew the paramedic was just trying to help and be nice, she didn't feel like answering his questions. So she didn't. She allowed herself to stay lost in her own thoughts.

"How is she?" Officer Sullivan asked, approaching the ambulance.

"She appears to be fine. Her blood pressure's a little high but nothing to be overly concerned about. I don't think she's suffered any physical trauma, just emotional trauma. I think she's in shock." The paramedic replied. "It looks like all of the blood on her clothes isn't hers."

"Has she said anything yet?" Sullivan asked.

"No." The paramedic shook his head. "She hasn't said a word, but that's not too uncommon for someone in her situation."

"Thanks." Sullivan told him, focusing on Lacy now. "Miss Williams, my name is Officer Sullivan. Do you think you can answer some questions for me?"

She didn't look at him, focusing her eyes instead on the ground. The rain had finally stopped, but now there were several puddles lining the street. Every time she looked at the rain puddles she saw the puddles of blood from the elevator. The image haunted her mind, tormenting her, but yet she couldn't tear her eyes away from it.

Although she heard Officer Sullivan's question and knew that he wanted information about what had happened here and her role in everything, she couldn't talk about it for several reasons. The first reason was that she didn't really know what to say about it. She couldn't put into words what she felt and saw entering into that elevator.

Another reason she could say anything was that anything she would say about this whole thing would only incriminate herself because she would let it slip about her connection with the Joker.

She was so incredibly mad at him for this. No. Mad wasn't the right word. It was stronger than mad. Maybe infuriated? Incensed? Irate? Probably all of the above and more.

Her anger and outrage stemmed from more than what he had put her through. She was truly devastated about Chris' death. Despite the fact that he got tangled up in the Joker's web, he was a good man and didn't deserve to die—especially like this. This was a cruel way to kill someone.

For a moment today she actually believed that she was going to be able to prevent his death and get him out of the country safely. She believed that she could save someone and that the Joker wasn't always going to win. But now, that belief had been shattered.

She hated the fact that Chris' death was so gruesome, and she hated it even more that the Joker had used it as a way to torture her. He had set everything up perfectly so that she would be the one to find Chris. He must have had Chris call her so that she would come over and then timed everything perfectly so that she would be stuck in the elevator with him. He must have also made sure that the elevator would get stuck and must have messed with the phone lines.

Then there was the note. It was still in her pocket and she wished that she could find a place to get rid of it without anyone ever seeing it but right now it would have to stay safely in her pocket.

Obviously the Joker was upset about a few things, the first being her plot to undermine him by getting Chris out of the country. The more she thought about it, the more she didn't believe what he said in his note about how he was going to leave Chris alone. There was no way he would leave Chris alive if he was still in the city. He must have only mentioned it to mess with her mind—and it worked.

She couldn't help but laugh on the inside about his comment on how he has "extended certain kindnesses" on her. Granted, he never physically tortured her or caused serious bodily harm to her, but what he lacked in physical trauma he more than made up for in emotional and psychological warfare. Now apparently he was going to stop playing nice with her.

She had a feeling his growing impatience with her had a lot to do with Bruce. She could tell that he was jealous of Bruce, even though he wouldn't admit it. It was hard not to feel a certain sense of victory knowing that she had made him feel a human emotion, especially since she knew that he must hate himself for it. But that feeling of victory was short-lived.

It seemed like he truly believed she had slept with Bruce and she knew there would be no way to convince him otherwise. What scared her was what he was going to do to Bruce. She knew she it was only a matter of time before he came after Bruce and, since he was under the impression that she had cheated on him with Bruce, she could be certain that he would be planning an even more gruesome death.

He had warned her in the note to stay out of his business or else he would kill her. If she really wanted to be honest with herself she would admit that, in many ways, he had already killed her.

"You can't be serious!" Bruce yelled at Sullivan.

Hearing Bruce yell snapped her out of her reverie and she turned her head to see Bruce and Officer Sullivan arguing. She had no idea how long she had been deep in thought and didn't remember hearing Sullivan ask any other questions—other than the first one that she didn't answer.

"I'm sorry Mr. Wayne, but it is procedure for a situation like this. We have to take Miss Williams down to the station to question her." Sullivan had been trying to explain this to Mr. Wayne for the past ten minutes, but he had been adamant that Miss Williams not go down to the police station.

"I don't care about procedure!" Bruce argued. "She isn't considered a suspect, is she?"

"No sir." Sullivan sighed. "Officers found tons of Joker cards in the stairwells and in the victims' offices. That, combined with other clues lead us to believe it was the work of the Joker. Miss Williams is not a suspect but we still need to question her because she may have vital information that could help us catch him."

"You really want to question her?" Bruce laughed and lowered his voice a little, hoping that then Lacy wouldn't be able to hear him. "Look at her. She's a mess right now. She was locked in an elevator where she had to watch her friend bleed to death all over her. Her clothes are soaked with his blood, not to mention the fact that she hasn't said one word since coming out of the elevator. Believe me, she's not in a good state of mind right now and isn't going to be able to tell you anything."

"Maybe not, but I have to follow procedure." Sullivan told him. "If you have a problem with that, I suggest you take it with the Commissioner. You'll definitely have a chance since you're coming along too."

Bruce sighed, realizing that there was no way to keep Lacy from having to go down to the station. He looked over at her, surprised to see that she was looking at him. For the past twenty minutes she had been staring at the ground, seemingly oblivious to anything that was going on around her.

Sullivan had tried to question her for a few minutes, but Bruce noticed that he gave up quickly when he realized he wasn't going to get any answers. After that, he had gone over to try and comfort her, but she seemed like she didn't even know he was there.

He walked back over to her. "Hey. Are you ok?" He didn't expect her to answer, but was hoping. He had heard about people who suffer from extremely emotionally traumatic situations going mute for awhile after the initial trauma is over. Usually in that case the victim is so distraught over the fear and helplessness they felt that they unconsciously decide to exercise control over something.

Since they couldn't control their surroundings or the actions of others they control themselves, either by not talking or altering their behavior in some other way. What happened to Lacy tonight was unthinkable and all he wanted to do was help her get through this.

She heard his question and instead of answering, simply looked at him and then down at her clothes. Her once cream colored blouse was now a dark crimson color, though it was harder to discern that the stains on her black slacks were blood. But she knew it was, and that was enough to make her want to strip down out of them right here and now.

She knew she wouldn't do that with all these people around, though she still wanted to. She wanted to rid herself of the outward reminders of what had happened tonight, but apparently she had to go down to the police station with Bruce. No doubt they would ask her more questions that she didn't want to answer.

It wasn't that she didn't want to help the police understand what happened so much as she didn't want to relive it. She wanted to forget it had happened, or wake up and realize that this was just a bad dream. There was little chance of either of those things happening though.

He studied her and realized that she was trying to tell him that she didn't like wearing the blood stained clothes. He could understand that and respected it.

"You know, I bet you want to go, take a long shower and change clothes, but we have to go to the police station to answer some questions before you can do that." He took off his suit jacket and placed it around her shoulders. "But maybe this can help in the meantime."

She felt the jacket drape over her shoulders and immediately grabbed onto it, pulling it tightly around her chest. She looked over at him, wanting to smile and say thank you, but finding herself unable.

"Everything is going to be ok." He assured her. "I promise you that." He remembered promising Chris that he would protect Lacy. He had been telling the truth; he would protect her, but he had decided on doing that long before he promised Chris.

Even if the only relationship he could ever have with Lacy was simply friendship, the last thing he wanted to see was her hurt. That's why seeing her in this state was so heartbreaking to him. She looked like a wreck. The only expression in her eyes was a look of despondence, of utter and complete devastation.

He knew that she had truly cared about Chris and really wanted him to be able to live a long life away from the Joker. She was dedicated and determined to see that happen. Her plan obviously wasn't foolproof but he really thought that it would work. He had made sure that Chris would leave as soon as possible, leaving little time for the Joker to find out about the plans.

So that left the question of how did he find out?

"Ok. Let's go." Sullivan said as he approached them. "The sooner we get this over with the sooner you both can go home."

Bruce helped Lacy get up and pulled her close to him as they headed to the waiting cop car. He put his arm around her and felt her head rest on his shoulder.

* * *

"Is everything ready?" The Joker asked his men as they stood in an alley. He had trusted his men to get everything taken care of while he was taking care of business at Ace Consulting. Now it was time to reap the rewards of his planning.

"Everything's set. The bombs are in place." Jeff answered.

"And is the person I requested still inside?" The Joker asked expectantly.

"Yes." Jeff replied. "He's tied up so he's not going anywhere."

"Good." He laughed, staring at the detonation device. The alley they were standing in was close enough to the building they were going to blow up that they could see every moment of the carnage, yet still far enough away for them to be safe from debris and such.

He hesitated pushing the trigger, not out of remorse or second-guessing. Instead, he paused because wondered if Lacy had gotten out of the elevator yet. He would have to check on that after he was done with this job.

He smirked as he pressed the button. "Ka-boom!"


	36. Chapter 36

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to everyone supporting this story by either reading and/or reviewing! Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Six

"That's beautiful, boys!" The Joker exclaimed happily, smirking at the men around him. After pressing the detonator to the bombs he watched excitedly as the building erupted into flames and sent thick, black smoke into the night air. It was a perfect sight and another job well done.

He stood around for only a few more seconds, aware that they needed to get away from the scene before the cops and firefighters arrived.

"Alright." He told his men. "That's enough watching. Let's go."

As he climbed into the waiting car, he pulled out his cell phone. "Hey, it's me. Where are you right now?"

"Uh, we're outside the police station." Dale replied nervously.

"The police station?" The Joker was intrigued. "So I assume that the little mouse fell into the trap and was rescued by the police?"

"Actually, she was rescued by Bruce Wayne and the police. Now they are both at the police station." Dale informed him.

"Interesting." The Joker commented. He was impressed. He would have guessed that Lacy would have to spend more time with Chris in that elevator, but if she was already rescued and being questioned by the police then that meant that she didn't spend nearly as much time in there as he originally planned. It bummed him out slightly.

All that planning and hard work just so she could spend a mere fraction of the time he had intended for her to spend in there. Well, he knew that no matter how long she spent in there with Chris bleeding on her she would understand the point and get his message loud and clear.

He meant what he said in the letter. He felt like he had been too nice to her over the years. She was afforded certain liberties that no one else in his life got, like being able to talk back to him without getting a bullet put in her brain. And while he liked to tell himself that his kindness to her didn't mean anything, he was beginning to see the truth.

She was making him feel too human and common. That had to stop, and he was hoping it would when Crane reprograms her. Although he had to admit he was still skeptical about Crane's ability to completely change a person's personality, he was willing to give it a shot with Lacy as a guinea pig.

What was the worst that could happen? It failed and then he killed her instead. In a way she deserved it for spending so much time with Bruce Wayne. He didn't want to admit it, and wouldn't dare say it out-loud, but he was jealous. For better or worse she was his, not Bruce's.

Bruce didn't deserve her, and he certainly didn't know her the way he did. If Bruce ever found out who Lacy really was, well, their little "relationship" would be over in an instant.

"Boss, there's someone else here at the police station that I think you should know about." Dale added, nervous to tell him this news over the phone.

"Who?" He was curious.

"It's Dr. Crane." Dale explained. "I guess the police arrested him earlier this evening, though I haven't been able to find out why yet."

"Damn." That definitely wasn't part of the plan. If Crane was in jail then how was he supposed to work on the reprogramming? And why was Crane arrested? Did the police somehow discover what he was doing? And if so, how did they find out? He certainly didn't tell them.

"Keep me updated on what happens." The Joker told him before hanging up. He sighed. This presented a problem, but one that could be solved.

* * *

Crane sat in the holding cell, impatiently waiting. They had arrested him, brought him back here and not said anything to him since. Apparently there was some big crime going on downtown and it made everyone forget about him.

He had plenty of things to do outside of this cell and didn't appreciate being left here. He had to figure out who had turned him in to the police. It couldn't have been his "patients" because they wouldn't have gone against him.

They were under his complete control. He had programmed them to be completely agreeable to whatever he told them to do. He had even tested it and re-tested it. So there was no way that his reprogramming could have failed, right?

He had to consider who else could have ratted him out if it wasn't one of his "patients". The obvious choice would be the Joker, but even that didn't make much sense. They had a deal that when the Joker caught Batman he would turn him over so he could be reprogrammed for evil.

Although they had a deal, he wasn't naïve enough to believe that the Joker wouldn't betray him. But it didn't quite make sense to him. Why would the Joker rat him out when he was supposed to be working on a reprogramming for him? He seemed really excited and impatient about the progress and when he would be able to reap the rewards.

So who else could have turned him in?

He sighed. There was no way of knowing exactly what had happened until he got out of here. They would probably question him and then transfer him to Arkham. That's when he would make his escape and figure out who ratted him out.

* * *

Bruce walked in to the police station with Lacy, keeping one hand on her back as a reassuring gesture. Her reign of silence had continued in the car and he wondered when she was going to talk again. He couldn't blame her for not wanting to talk though.

Lacy wasn't paying attention to anything while in the car on the way to the police station, instead focusing on the events of the night and how to best move on.

They were being led into the police station to meet with Commissioner Gordon and she was aware that they would most likely be splitting her and Bruce up to talk in different rooms. While she understood why that had to happen she wasn't looking forward to it.

He had been wonderful to her since rescuing her from the elevator, although she hated the idea of her being a damsel in distress that needed rescuing. She hated being a victim.

"I'm gonna go get Commissioner Gordon." Sullivan told them. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

Bruce waited until Sullivan turned his back on them to place his hand on Lacy's shoulder. "Lacy, I know that you're going through a lot right now but everything will be alright." Even though she was looking directly at him he still didn't think that she was really listening to him.

Bruce studied their surroundings. Sullivan had led them into the heart of the police station and had left them a few feet away from a holding cell. Curious, he peeked over and saw a familiar face. They had arrested Dr. Crane/Scarecrow. He wondered why he was arrested this time. He made sure to make a mental note to find out about it later.

"Good evening." Gordon greeted Bruce and Lacy as he walked up to them. "Mr. Wayne, you'll be going with Officer Sullivan to give your statement. Miss Williams, if you'll come with me I'll take your…"

"Commissioner, we just got a call in to the station." An officer interrupted him. "There's been an explosion."

"Where?" Gordon asked.

"Our Lady of Gotham Church." The officer replied.

Lacy's attention was immediately piqued and she listened to the two of them with great interest. Her heart raced as she considered the good possibility of the Joker blowing up the church that she had visited earlier today.

Gordon sighed, tired of dealing with the Joker's antics. "How bad is it?"

"Building is completely destroyed according to the witnesses. Our guys are almost there and firefighters are already at the scene." The officer answered.

"Anyone inside at the time?" Gordon questioned.

The officer shrugged. "We won't know that until our guys get there."

"Great." Gordon sighed again. "And the fun never stops. Thanks. Keep me updated."

"Sure." The officer replied before going back to his desk.

"Do you think the church bombing was the Joker too?" Bruce asked Gordon.

"It's too soon for an official answer, but between us I think so." Gordon answered. "Looks like he's been a busy man tonight."

"But why would he blow up a church?" Bruce wondered out-loud.

Lacy knew the answer to that question but didn't volunteer the answer. He did it to teach her a lesson. She knew that he still had his men following her around, and they must have seen her enter the church. He must have realized that she was going to confession to clear her guilty conscience and this was his way of saying to her that it was impossible.

"Why does the Joker do anything he does?" Gordon chuckled. "It's anybody's guess. But let's get your statements so you can get home."

Lacy watched as Bruce went off with Officer Sullivan, noting that he looked back at her and gave her a reassuring smile. She turned her attention to Commissioner Gordon, following him into a small interrogation room. He motioned for her to sit down so she did.

"So is there anything you can tell me?" Commissioner Gordon asked her. He was well aware of her silence. She had apparently been mute ever since getting out of the elevator. He wondered if she would talk to him or if he was simply wasting his time.

When she didn't answer him he tried a different approach. "Look, Miss Williams, we don't blame you for anything that happened tonight and you're not going to be charged with anything. We know that the Joker is responsible for this. What we need from you is any information that can help us catch him."

They had found the Joker's calling cards in the building so they knew he had been involved in this crime. Now he just had to find out what Lacy's role in it was. His gut told him that she was an innocent bystander in this, a pawn that the Joker moved around his chess board. But he still had to make sure.

It took every ounce of self-restraint not to laugh and shout out that this whole thing was her fault and that she should be charged with something. Anything! She didn't really care anymore.

He watched her carefully. Anyone else would say that she was looking at him, but he felt like she was looking through him. "You do want us to catch him, right?"

She thought about his question thoughtfully. To be honest she found her answer to be more complicated than she imagined. It was true that she wanted the Joker to be stopped. It was the one thing she wanted most in this world. To have the Joker be stopped would hopefully alleviate her guilt and allow her to finally start healing the wounds he had inflicted upon her for so many years.

Yet as much as she wanted him to be stopped, she couldn't help but realize the hard truth. Jails and asylums can't hold him. He's the Harry Houdini of criminals, managing to get out of every jail cell, every padded cell, every guarded room with the greatest of ease.

No. The truth was she didn't want him to be caught. She wanted him to be dead. It was the only way to stop him once and for all. But who would be able to do that? The police can't seem to get the job done and Batman refuses to do what needs to be done.

Gordon was starting to realize that he wasn't going to get any information or statement from her tonight. "Ok, Miss Williams, I realize you have been through an extremely traumatic event tonight. I won't keep you here any longer. You can go home now. But I expect you to come back here tomorrow and give us your statement then."

She was glad to be able to go home now. All she really wanted was to take a nice, long shower to get this blood off of her, change into something comfortable and not soiled with blood, and curl up underneath the covers.

* * *

The holding cell he had been in for the past few hours had been incredibly boring until recently. Crane's mind drifted back to the woman brought in with Bruce Wayne. Her name had been revealed as Lacy Williams, and for a few moments he was unable to think of where he had heard that name before. He was certain that he had heard it.

It wasn't until he got a good look at her face that it all started to make sense to him. Lacy Williams was the person that the Joker wanted him to reprogram. That's where he knew her from!

Now the question was why did the Joker care about Lacy enough to want to change her into a submissive, slave-like person? And why was she at the police station covered in blood? This was definitely an interesting development. At least now he had something new to think about while stuck in here.


	37. Chapter 37

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to everyone! Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Lacy followed Commissioner Gordon out of the interrogation room and back to where they had originally been brought back into. She didn't realize it but she was standing right next to the holding cell that Dr. Crane was in.

"I'm going to go get Mr. Wayne so that he can take you home." Gordon told her before going down the hall.

She watched him go and was glad that Bruce would be the one taking her home instead of a cop who was a stranger to her. At least Bruce was comforting and she could trust him. Any one of these cops could be on the Joker's payroll.

Crane saw a golden opportunity and decided not to pass it up. He slowly moved over to the side of the holding cell that Lacy was standing by. He stood with his back to the bars but turned his head towards her. "Nice clothes." He whispered loud enough for only her to hear.

She immediately looked over to see the notorious Dr. Jonathan Crane talking to her. But why would he be talking to her?

"I just want to have a little chat with you before Gordon comes back. I've got to admit that I'm curious about you." When she didn't ask why he continued. "The Joker seems captivated by you and I can see why. You are fairly attractive, although you probably would look better without all the blood. But anyway, he hired me to do some…work on you."

She couldn't help it but look over at him, her curious eyes meeting with his cold, blue eyes.

"You want to know why?" He asked, reading her expression. "Well the answer is simple. He wanted me to test a new procedure on you, one that would completely change your life forever."

Her eyes narrowed as she studied him. Whether or not he was telling the truth was anyone's guess, although at this point she didn't doubt that the Joker would hire this psycho to do something to her. But if the Joker really had hired Crane to do something to her, why would Crane be telling her about it?

"You're probably also wondering why I would be telling you about it." He stated. "Call it fair disclosure. It's your decision what you decide to do with this information. You can believe it or not. You can act on it or not. It's completely up to you. But keep this in mind. I may be many things, but I'm not a liar."

"I don't know what your connection to the Joker is, but I can bet that I don't have to tell you to be careful around him." He winked at her. "I'm sure I'll see you again soon." He could see that Gordon was coming back and moved away from Lacy.

Bruce saw that Crane was too close to Lacy for his own personal comfort, and it looked like he was talking to her. But what was he talking to her about?

He walked over to Lacy. "Hey. Are you ready to go?"

She looked at him, slightly nodding her head and letting him lead her out of the police station. Waiting outside was Alfred with the car. She hated the look of pity that was in Alfred and Bruce's eyes when they looked at her so she instead focused her attention anywhere else.

The ride was silent and she suspected it was quiet because neither man knew what to say around her. She couldn't blame them for that because she didn't know what to say around them either. All she really wanted was to go home and try to put this whole thing behind her. But as she sat in the backseat of Bruce's car watching the scenery pass by, she realized that this wasn't the way home—at least not to her home.

She looked over at Bruce, who had been staring at her. Finally breaking her silence she asked in a low whisper, "why aren't you taking me back to my apartment?"

Bruce was slightly surprised to finally hear her talk again but quickly responded." I don't think it would be a good idea for you to be alone tonight. You can stay in the guest room."

"Maybe I don't want a babysitter." She angrily spat out. "Did you ever think about that?"

"I'm not trying to babysit you." He told her, trying to understand why she was acting this way towards him. "I just thought that you wouldn't want to be alone after what happened. I'm sorry. I was trying to protect you."

She immediately felt bad. She was angry about a lot of things and with a lot of people, but Bruce wasn't one of them. All he was trying to do was be nice and protect her. She had no right to get mad at him for caring, even if she didn't deserve it. "You don't have to be sorry. I'm the one who should apologize. You're just trying to help. I shouldn't have blown up at you like that."

She sighed. "It's been a really bad night and my emotions are all over the place."

"I understand." He told her. "It's ok. If you want, we can turn around and take you back to your apartment. Just say the word and we'll do it. But either way I'm saying with you. I don't want you to be alone tonight."

She thought about it for a moment and decided that it would be a bad idea for Bruce to stay at her apartment. What if the Joker decided to pay a visit to her tonight? That would raise too many suspicions and would only end badly for everyone.

"No, it's ok." She told him, looking out the window and noting where they were. "We're almost there."

"Ok." He nodded.

When they got out of the car they walked through the garage to the actual entrance to the building. She stopped abruptly when she saw the elevator. "I'm gonna take the stairs."

Bruce understood why she couldn't get into an elevator and should have thought about that before bringing her back here. At least at her apartment building she would only have to climb six flights of stairs. He looked over at Alfred. "I'm going to go with her."

"You don't have to do that." She told him. "It's a lot of stairs. I don't want to make you have to climb all of them."

"You're not making me do anything." He assured her. "I understand that you don't feel comfortable taking an elevator and I don't want you to be bored while taking the stairs."

"Ok." She relented, already starting to climb the first flight of stairs.

* * *

"She's staying with Bruce Wayne again." Dale observed. They were sitting in a car not too far away from Bruce Wayne's penthouse, making sure that the police car following her didn't catch on to them.

"The boss is not going to like that." Chip added.

"Yeah, but at least I don't have to be the one to tell him about it cause it's your turn to check in." Dale happily gloated. "I wonder if he's still upset about Dr. Crane being arrested."

"Probably." Chip told his friend. "But what I don't understand is why he cares."

"I heard that the boss made a deal with the crazy doctor." Dale answered.

"What kind of a deal?" Chip asked.

"Apparently Dr. Crane is claiming to be able to reprogram someone's personality. So he came to the boss and suggested that when the boss captures Batman that the boss turns him over to the crazy doctor. He wants to turn Batman into an evil criminal by reprogramming him." Dale explained.

"I see." Chip chuckled. "Dr. Cuckoo-Brains really thinks he can change someone's entire personality?"

"Yes." Dale answered, laughing at Chip's new nickname for Dr. Crane. "But there's more. I heard that in order for the boss to fully agree to this plan he asked Dr. Crane to reprogram a certain female that we both know."

Chip's eyes went wide. "You mean, her?" He asked, pointing to Bruce's building.

"Yep." Dale nodded, confirming Chip's suspicion.

"No way!" Chip exclaimed. "That's unbelievable."

"I know." Dale agreed.

"I wonder how he wants to change her." Chip wondered out-loud.

"I don't know but it will be hard for that to happen since Crane is in jail." Dale smiled.

"Does the boss know who put him there yet?" Chip asked.

"Nope, and I kind of hope he doesn't find out." Dale replied.

"Why?" Chip questioned.

Dale stayed silent, hoping his silence would answer Chip's question.

Chip studied his friend's face for the answer and chuckled. "Don't tell me you did that!"

"Someone had to do something." Dale retorted.

"You really did!" Chip exclaimed. "Damn, I'm impressed. But how? And why?"

"It was very easy. I just paid some people to pretend that they had been "programmed" by Crane and then gave them the address of where Crane was staying so they could give it to the police." Dale explained.

"Ok. That explains the how. Now how about the why?" Chip asked. "Is this still about that crush you have on her?"

"It's not a crush." Dale shrugged. "I just…it seems to me that she's been through a lot and I don't want to see her get reprogrammed. She seems like a good person and who knows what the Joker would turn her into if given the chance."

"You're gonna be in such trouble if he finds out what you've done." Chip sighed.

"I know." Dale nodded.

"He won't just kill you. He will torture you until he's bored." Chip explained.

"Again, I know this." Dale replied. "You won't tell him, right?"

"No." Chip shook his head. "You should know by now that I won't. I guess I can see why you didn't want to let this happen, but I still think it was a dumb move. You're sticking your neck out for a woman you've never even met."

"Thanks man. I appreciate it." Dale smiled.

"No problem." Chip replied, shaking his head.

"Aren't you going to call the boss and let him know about the girl staying with Bruce Wayne?" Dale prodded.

"No. If I call him right now he'll be able to tell that I'm hiding something." Chip explained. "I'm going to go get some coffee and then call him. You want some too?"

"Yeah." Dale replied.

"I'll be right back." He couldn't believe that Dale was this dumb. While he could understand why he wanted to save her from Dr. Cuckoo-Brains' weird experimentations, this was going to blow up in his face. The Joker would find out it was Dale who set Crane up to be arrested sooner or later. He just hoped for his friends' sake it was later.

* * *

"I'm sorry." Lacy said as they approached Bruce's floor. They had been climbing up the stairs for what seemed like forever, of course she realized it might have seemed like forever on account of the fact that neither of them were talking.

"What are you sorry about?" Bruce asked, not sure what she could be feeling sorry about.

"Well for one, no being able to go up in the elevator. It would have been a lot quicker and less tiring." She told him.

"It doesn't matter to me." Bruce replied with a smile. "It just means I get a little more exercise, which can't hurt."

She let his words sink in for a moment before talking again. "I'm also sorry for not telling you about the Joker. You're a smart man. By now you must have figured out that Chris was working for the Joker and that's who I was trying to get him away from."

"Yes, I had figured that out." He left out the fact that he had known all along.

"I wish I could have told you, but I was trying to protect you and keep you out of this as much as possible." She sighed and sat down on the top step. "Looks like I'm a failure at protecting people. I mean, I tried to protect Chris and now he's dead. I tried to protect you from getting more involved in this and I failed that too."

"You can't blame yourself for what happened to Chris." Bruce told her, sitting next to her on the step and putting his arm around her shoulder. "The Joker is unstable. No one is to blame for his actions."

She wanted to believe that was the truth but still felt guilty for her role in everything the Joker has done.

"And as for me, I can take care of myself." He assured her.

"If you say so." She whispered.

He got up and clapped his hands together. "We're almost there. Looks like one more floor. Let's get you upstairs and out of those clothes!" As soon as he said that he realized it sounded inappropriate. "I, uh…"

She laughed, knowing by the look on his face what he was thinking. "Don't worry. I know what you meant."


	38. Chapter 38

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to everyone reading and/or reviewing this story. I'm afraid that this will be the last update for a couple of days. I'm going to be super-busy with a bunch of things but will definitely update this story again by Wednesday (Tuesday if I get ambitious)! I tried to be nice and not to leave you with a cliffhanger. Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Crane sat in the interrogation room, absentmindedly rolling the empty cup on the desk. They had taken him out of his holding cell and placed him in here shortly after Lacy left with Bruce Wayne. But that had been a long time ago and he was starting to wonder if they had forgotten about him.

He focused his mind on his earlier conversation with Lacy. While he could admit that telling her the Joker had hired him to do something to her would seem weird to most people, to him it seemed just right.

He had gone over and over the methods he used to change someone's personality and had tested it extensively. He was 100 percent sure that his methods worked and he really had changed the guys' personalities. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind that it worked.

So if he was right, then who really turned him in to the police? The answer seemed simple to him. It had to be someone who knew about his plans and where to find him. Few people knew about where he stayed and an even fewer amount knew what his plans were.

His powers of deduction led him to believe his betrayer was either the Joker or someone in the Joker's crew. It was more likely that the betrayer was someone within the Joker's crew rather than the Joker himself, but it didn't matter much to him. Either way, he would get his revenge.

He didn't think the Joker had turned him in to the police not out of some naïve belief that the Joker wasn't capable of doing so, but because he was good at reading people. The Joker was no exception. He was extremely excited about the prospect of changing someone's complete personality and molding them to be whatever you want them to be. When the Joker sent him the list of attributes he wanted Lacy to have, he could tell that the Joker basically wanted to train someone to be his passive sex slave.

Now he didn't have a problem with that. He realized it must be difficult for the Joker to find anyone willing to have consensual sex with him on account of his insanity and the scars. He couldn't begrudge him for wanting to have someone around who would be absolutely loyal, agreeable and passive. What man didn't fantasize about a woman like that?

But the fact of the matter remained that he was in police custody and his work was going to be taken away from him. That would only delay, if not completely destroy the deal they had and the Joker would not be able to reprogram Lacy. He didn't see that as being something the Joker wanted to happen, which led him to believe that it was more likely someone in the Joker's crew was the one who ratted him out to the police.

But in the long run it didn't matter who ratted him out. The important thing was that he was going to have to spend valuable time plotting and executing an escape, as well as spending valuable time replacing all of his work documents. That couldn't happen without being avenged.

So he warned Lacy to be careful of the Joker and revealed a part of the Joker's plan to her, always being careful not to reveal the whole plan. But he let her know just enough. His hope would be that she would go directly to Batman and ask for his protection. Then Batman would go after the Joker and while they are fighting it out, he could slip in and destroy both of them. It would be perfect.

* * *

Lacy entered the guest bathroom and took a good, long look at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess, her face was still slightly stained with dried blood, and her clothes still colored a deep red. Looking at herself right now was an image she would never forget, just like the image of looking up in that elevator and seeing Chris.

She turned on the water in the sink and picked up the bar of soap, working it into a soapy lather in her hands. Then she started scrubbing her face, eagerly attempting to get the dried blood off of her face. There wasn't much left; the paramedic had done a good job of getting most of it off. She just wanted to make sure that there wasn't any trace of it left on her face. She would worry about her hair and body when she got in the shower.

Once she was satisfied with a clean face, she took stock of the rest of the bathroom. Alfred had stocked it with fresh towels and it looked like there was shampoo and body wash already in the shower. There was a robe hanging on the door, along with a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

Without anymore hesitance she quickly shed her clothes and walked into the shower, turning the water as warm as it could go. It took a few moments for the water to heat up but she didn't mind. She let the water wash over her and finally allowed herself to cry.

Sobs racked her body as she let herself feel the emotions from this evening. There was sadness over the loss of a friend, anger at the monster who killed him and guilt over the whole thing. Then there was the church bombing. She knew that was her fault. The only reason he targeted the church was because she had gone to confession there today.

She let herself purge all the tears from her body as the water washed away the stress from the night.

* * *

The Joker smiled as he turned on the television, eager to see the news coverage from the night's activities.

"_As you can see, the flames from Our Lady of Gotham Church are still going as firefighters work to contain the blaze. Apparently at around 10:05 this evening there was a powerful blast originating from the church. The police have been hesitant to attribute this crime to the Joker; however witnesses are reporting that they saw several men wearing clown masks hanging around outside the church just before the detonation."_

"_We're also getting reports from witnesses that the blast was so significant it even shattered windows in nearby buildings. Police are still unsure if anyone was in the church at the time of the blast, and probably won't find out for sure until after the flames have been extinguished. This is Jeanne Stone reporting live for GCN. Back to you, Mike." _

"_Thank you Jeanne." Mike nodded. "Unfortunately there is another story that we are closely following for you tonight, a gruesome murder at a downtown office building. We go now to Steve Turner for more information."_

"_Thank you Mike. As you mentioned, along with the church bombing, there has been a truly disturbing murder occurred tonight. I'm here at the scene of the crime. It happened at the Ace Consulting office building. Apparently, police were called out to this location at around 8:30 p.m. and found a young woman trapped in an elevator with a man who had been stabbed to death several times and then tied to the ceiling of the elevator."_

"_Police say this was another of the infamous Joker killings, as they found several of his Joker calling cards scattered around the office of the victim. I'm being told that the young woman was taken in for questioning but is not considered a suspect, just a woman in the wrong place at the wrong time."_

"_Steve, are the police releasing the names of the victim and the young woman?"Mike asked from the newsroom. _

_Steve looked down at his notes before answering. "Actually Mike, police have released the name of the victim. He is being identified as 32-year old Chris Stevens, a consultant who worked for Ace Consulting. Police are being careful not to release the name of the young woman who found his body though."_

"_Have the police said anything about a possible motive for this killing or any definite connections between this killing and the recent one of Ace Consultings' CEO Samuel Drake?" Mike asked. _

"_No Mike, the police are being very quiet about possible connections between this murder and the one of Samuel Drake, other than the fact that they worked for the same company and were both stabbed." Steve replied. _

"_Thank you Steve." Mike acknowledged. "And now let's take a look at tomorrow's weather forecast…"_

The Joker turned off the television in disgust. They didn't report on half the things he wanted them to report on tonight. For starters, they didn't mention Lacy's name and they didn't tell everyone about the person he blew up in the church. The way he saw it, it was negligent journalism, pure and simple.

When the phone rang he sighed and waited for the fourth ring to answer. "Hello?"

"Hey boss." Chip greeted. "We've been following the girl and wanted to let you know that she's staying at Bruce Wayne's penthouse."

"Interesting." The Joker said. He wondered if she would stay with Bruce tonight, but wasn't sure after the note that he had left her in the elevator. It was a warning about many different things, one of which being her "relationship" with Bruce Wayne.

Apparently, judging by the fact that she chose to stay with Bruce tonight she had made her choice. He had to assume that by this decision she was trying to tell him that she wasn't under his control anymore. It disturbed him on many levels, especially since Crane was now in jail. It was going to be difficult to "re-program" Lacy if Crane was in jail or being monitored by the police.

He wondered why Crane was in jail but hadn't had time to find out yet. He would figure out what to do about Lacy after he found out about Crane.

"Keep me posted on what she does." The Joker told Chip before hanging up.

* * *

After showering, Lacy put on the clothes and the robe left for her in the bathroom and then went to go find Bruce. She found him in the kitchen with Alfred. "Hi." She quietly said as she walked over and sat on a stool next to Bruce. It looked like he had taken a shower as well and she found the scent of his body wash to be extremely relaxing and comforting to her.

It was a familiar scent. For a moment she couldn't quite remember where she had smelled that scent before, but then it hit her. It was the same scent that Jack used to use. That's why she found it comforting.

_Lacy rolled over and groaned, pounding on the alarm clock to get it to shut up. _

"_You better watch what you do to that thing." Jack joked as he came out of the shower with just a towel wrapped around his waist. He sat next to her on the edge of the bed and kissed her forehead. "Good morning." _

"_It is now." She smiled, gently tugging on his towel._

_He laughed. "I just took a shower." _

"_I know." She laughed. "But I can't help it that I love the way you smell right after a shower." _

_He repositioned himself so that he was lying down next to her and pushed some hair out of her face. "You know traditionally it's supposed to be the man asking for sex in the morning." _

"_What can I say?" She shrugged, bringing her lips as close to his as they could be without touching. "We must just be an unconventional couple." _

"_I can deal with that." He smiled._

She brought herself out of that memory, ashamed that she would allow herself to think about him like that. That person was gone. Jack was gone forever and in his place was a monster that needed to be taken out of society. She couldn't let herself think of him as Jack anymore. It would only cloud her emotions and prevent her from doing what was necessary.

"How are you feeling?" Bruce asked.

"Better I guess." She answered.

"Can I get you anything to eat, Miss Williams?" Alfred asked, more than willing to make her whatever she wanted.

"No, but thanks." She shook her head. "I'm not hungry, and even if I was, I don't think I could keep it down."

"How about some warm cocoa then?" Alfred offered.

She gave him a small smile. "That sounds good, if you don't mind."

"I was already making some for Master Wayne, so it would be no trouble to make some for you. In fact, it would be my pleasure." Alfred assured her.

"Thank you for the clothes." She said, looking over at Bruce. She wanted to ask if he kept women's clothes here for emergencies, but didn't have the nerve to ask that question. Besides, it was none of her business.

"No problem." He smiled at her. He was glad that the clothes fit. While he was at the police station being questioned he called Alfred and had him pick up some clothes for Lacy since he planned on bringing her back here for the night.

Alfred placed the cups of cocoa in front of both Lacy and Bruce. "Here you go."

"Thanks Alfred." Bruce said before taking a sip.

"Yes, thanks." Lacy echoed Bruce's sentiments. She picked up her cup. "If you don't mind I think I'm going to take my cocoa into the guest room, drink it there and then try to get some rest."

"Ok." Bruce answered, knowing that she must be exhausted after everything. Although he wanted to ask her questions about what happened tonight he could understand her desire to just get some sleep. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to find me."

"Ok." She nodded. "Goodnight Alfred. Goodnight Bruce."

"Goodnight." Alfred and Bruce said in tandem.


	39. Chapter 39

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Ok, so I know I said there wouldn't be any more updates until Wednesday but I guess I fibbed a little. I should be doing several other things but instead I am procrastinating. Lucky for you! Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Nine

"What have the police found?" The Joker asked his informant in the police station. He had found out that Dale was right when he called and informed him that Crane had been arrested. Once the television coverage of his stabbing and church bombing had died down slightly, he got on the phone to find out more information about the mad doctor.

"They've confiscated all of the papers that were in his apartment, as well as his equipment and tools." His informant answered. "I hear that they also have some kind of letter or paper from you addressed to him."

"Damn it." He sighed. He was hoping that Crane had been smart enough not to leave the instructions for Lacy's "re-programming" out in the open. But he shouldn't have trusted him. Now that cops were going to know that there was a link between them. This wasn't good.

"Gordon's in there talking to him right now." The informant replied. "I don't know what he's going to ask or say to him but I can let you know later."

"Good work Officer Sullivan." The Joker praised. "Keep me informed."

After hanging up with his guy inside the police department he sat down in his chair. The police now had evidence that he was working with Crane, or at the very least conspiring with him. Either way it wasn't a good development.

Up until now he didn't have any incredibly strong feelings for Crane. Sure he didn't like him and thought he was an annoying pansy, but he never begrudged him his place in Gotham City and never actively wanted to kill him. Though now, maybe it was time to rid the city of a pathetic, useless pseudo-villain.

Killing Crane would have benefits. The cops wouldn't be able to get any information from Crane about his operations. The Joker would be safe and he wouldn't have to deal with Crane anymore.

The down side would be that all of his plans for Lacy would be destroyed and he would have to go back to his original plan, which involved killing her in a dramatic and creative manner. While he liked plotting and thinking about her death, he would have preferred keeping her around and just modifying her behaviors. But it seemed like his sheer manipulative ways were not going to be enough to mold her mind anymore and he couldn't count on Crane to help.

So it looked like Dr. Crane's and Lacy's days were numbered.

He opened up the locked drawer in his desk and pulled out a picture of Lacy. It was actually only part of a picture. The original picture was of Lacy, Jack and Alexis, but he had ripped the other two off so that it was just a picture of Lacy since the other two in the picture were dead.

He held the picture in his hands. "Well Lacy, I knew the time would come eventually when I would have to say goodbye to you. Perhaps if you hadn't grown such a backbone or pissed me off so much by hanging out with Bruce Wayne, we would still have a few more years together.

He sighed heavily. "But that's not the way things are meant to be. Don't worry though; I'll make your death a spectacular event."

* * *

Lacy stood over by the window, occasionally sipping her cocoa. The rain has started falling again and it was soothing to hear the raindrops pound on the glass. She had brought her cocoa to the guest room instead of staying in the kitchen with Bruce and Alfred because she felt she had to get away from Bruce. The smell of his body wash haunted her and brought up too many memories and feelings.

She hated that her mind would go back to happier times and wished she couldn't remember anything of her former life with Jack. If she didn't remember how much she loved him and how happy she had been, then things would be easier.

She was very grateful that Bruce let her stay here tonight. She had a feeling that if she had stayed at her own apartment the Joker would have paid her a visit and to be honest she just wanted to be alone for awhile.

Most likely he would have started to gloat about his evil deeds for the night. Then he probably would make several inappropriate and rude comments to her about Bruce. She wouldn't have been able to deal with it tonight and she definitely wasn't in the mood to see him or listen to whatever he said.

She sighed and walked over to the bedside table, placing the cocoa down before walking back to the window. How did everything get so complicated and messed up? It was a question she had asked herself a million times over the years and yet she still had no answer.

She heard footsteps approaching her door and rushed to get underneath the covers. She closed her eyes just as the door slowly opened.

Bruce slowly opened the door to the guest room. He had wanted to check on Lacy and make sure she was doing ok. He quietly crept into the room and saw that she was asleep in the bed. She looked peaceful and he didn't want to wake her up. He gently moved the covers up over her so that they were underneath her chin. Then he lightly caressed the side of her face before leaving.

When she was certain he had left the room she opened her eyes. It was kind of him to check on her and she knew it was wrong of her to pretend to be sleeping, but she didn't want to have to answer any more questions. It was unlikely that she was going to be able to sleep, but the bed was so comfy that she stayed in it anyway.

* * *

"Are you just going to sit there and not say anything?" Commissioner Gordon asked Crane. He had finally gotten a chance to give attention to Crane. The Joker had kept them extremely busy with the killing at Ace Consulting and the church bombing. He regretted that it took him so long to focus attention on Crane but it was just the way things had to be.

He had sat down and apologized for keeping him waiting for so long. He decided to ask his first question again. "So why do you think you have been arrested and brought here?"

Crane sighed. "I don't know. The arresting cop said it was because I had been trying to "reprogram" people." He laughed. "Between you and me, I think he had been drinking. I mean honestly, how would you even do something like that? He obviously has a very vivid imagination."

"So you deny your role in this?" Gordon asked.

"Of course I do." Crane replied. "It's a ludicrous idea to think that man can alter another man's personality. It goes against everything I learned in grad school."

Gordon coughed. "So did your fear toxin."

"The alleged fear toxin you refer to is different." Crane replied, not willing to admit that the fear toxin was his creation. "A fear toxin only amplifies someone's pre-existing fears. What you are suggesting with this "re-programming" has, to my knowledge, never been successfully achieved. I don't think it could ever become a reality."

"We found several blueprints and papers in your apartment that suggest otherwise." Gordon informed him. "Would you like a lawyer now?"

Crane smiled widely. "Just because someone does research on something doesn't make them guilty of that act."

"Possibly," Gordon nodded. "But we also found some correspondence between you and the Joker about a possible job you could do for him. Care to explain about that?"

"I think I'd like that lawyer now." Crane told him, continuing to keep the smile on his face.

* * *

Alfred and Bruce were still up, even though it was past midnight, trying to find out all the information they could about the church bombing and Dr. Crane's arrest. Bruce was hacking into the police server in the library while Alfred was watching the television to get any incoming news, but the news updates had slowed as the night wore on.

"Are you sure we should be doing this here while Miss Williams is in the penthouse?" Alfred asked. "Shouldn't we be doing this someone more secure?"

"We can't be anywhere else." Bruce explained. "If Lacy wakes up and she can't find either one of us, how is that going to make her feel? She'll be scared. And how will we explain where we were?"

"I don't know." Alfred admitted, "But it doesn't seem safe to me that we are doing this so close to her."

"I just checked on her a short while ago and she was fast asleep." Bruce assured his friend. "It will be fine. You worry too much."

"Someone has to in order to make up for the fact that you don't worry at all." Alfred pointed out.

Bruce laughed before going back to his task. "It looks like Crane was arrested for allegedly taking guys off the street and "re-programming" them?"

"What exactly does that mean?" Alfred inquired.

"I guess he tried to completely change their personality." Bruce explained.

"Seems weird." Alfred commented.

"Yeah." Bruce agreed. "It looks like they haven't finished interrogating him yet though. Maybe I can find out more information after they have finished that."

* * *

Lacy tossed and turned in the bed, tormented by dreams.

_Lacy looked around and saw that she was in her office with Chris. _

"_Lacy, you're such a good friend." Chris smiled at her. "I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me."_

"_I, uh…" She didn't know what to say. _

"_Thank you Lacy." He repeated. "Thank you for keeping me safe. I really appreciate it." _

_She blinked and found herself back in the elevator, looking up at Chris' mutated body and getting more blood on her. She stood there frozen, unable to look away. She looked at his face, blinked, and then saw his eyes open. _

"_You failed me Lacy." Chris told her in an angry, yet defeated tone. "You failed me." _

She woke up with a jolt, immediately sitting up to try and catch her breath. That had been a very weird dream and it disturbed her greatly, but it didn't surprise her. She knew that if she went to sleep she was bound to have nightmares. That was why she wasn't excited about sleeping. But when she climbed into bed to convince Bruce that she was asleep she must have fallen asleep for real, leading to the bad dream.

She got out of bed and looked out the window. It had stopped raining again, though it looked like it could start pouring again at any moment. She wondered briefly if Bruce was still awake. If he was she would go talk to him, but if he wasn't then she would let him sleep.

She decided to be really quiet as she walked around the penthouse, looking for Bruce.

* * *

"It looks like there was someone in the church when it exploded." Bruce told Alfred. "The police can't identify them but they did find a body in there."

"That's a shame." Alfred shook his head. "I wonder who it was."

"It looks like everyone working in the church has been accounted for but the priest." Bruce answered. "They think it might be him because they can't get a hold of him."

"Why would the Joker blow up a church with the priest in it?" Alfred asked.

"Because he can?" Bruce hypothesized, shutting his laptop angrily. "I hate this! I should be out there working with the police to catch this freak. Instead, I have to hide from the police and I'm still no closer to catching the Joker than I was when he first escaped!"

"I know you are frustrated, Master Wayne, but it's just going to take some time for the public to let go of their anger towards Batman." Alfred explained.

"It won't go away until I prove to them that I am on their side and the best way to do that is to catch the Joker and put him away in a place where he can't get out. But I can't do that because I'm a fugitive!" Bruce exclaimed.

"You just have to be patient." Alfred advised. "The Joker will make a mistake and you'll be there to catch him."

"How many more people have to die though?" Bruce asked. "I mean, the level of violence is escalating. His attacks are happening more frequently and they are getting more and more brutal."

"I realize that." Alfred commented.

"I'm afraid that Lacy is next on his list of targets and I have no idea how to protect her other than keeping her in this penthouse twenty-four hours a day, but there's no way she would agree to that." Bruce softly admitted.

"Miss Williams does seem to be a viable candidate for his next victim." Alfred agreed. "And I realize you want to protect her but there may be nothing you can do."

"I don't believe that." Bruce shook his head. "Of course I would have a better chance of protecting her and others if I could roam the streets freely."

"Well I hate to bring this up, but you were the one who decided to take the blame for Harvey Dent's misdeeds."Alfred mentioned." You knew what you were sacrificing."

"True," Bruce replied, "and I don't regret it. Harvey's work needed to be protected and it was the least I could do after the role I played in his disfiguration. But Batman is needed out there. I might have been able to save a lot more lives if I didn't have to dodge the police every night."

"You just have to have faith, Master Wayne." Alfred advised. "The favor of the public is a fickle thing. I'm sure this is going to be the first of many times where the public doesn't approve of Batman. But you aren't Batman to be popular. You are Batman to serve a higher calling."

Lacy backed away from the door to the library, stunned by what she just heard. Without making a sound she turned around and walked back to the guest room.


	40. Chapter 40

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thank you for all the support for this story and for being patient with my short break! Enjoy!

Chapter Forty

Lacy leaned up against the now closed door of the guest room. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Was Bruce Wayne really Batman? It couldn't be the truth, could it? But why would Bruce and Alfred talk about it so casually and nonchalantly if it wasn't the truth? It just seemed so…unbelievable.

Bruce was seen to the world as a playboy whose only interests included dating beautiful, dumb women and engaging in dangerous sports for the fun of it. After getting to know him though she had realized he wasn't quite the playboy that the press made him out to be in the tabloids. A thought then occurred to her.

What if everything was all just an act for the public? What if he made people think he liked to play dangerous sports and do dangerous activities like base jumping to cover up the multiple injuries he surely receives as the caped crusader?

The more and more she thought about it the more she became convinced that he really was Batman. "Oh my God." She whispered as she realized just what that meant.

He was the one who saved her from the Joker's thugs when they tried to kill her. He was the one that she invited up to her apartment to hide from the police. And he was also the one that she complained to about Batman and listed Batman's shortcomings.

This explained so much, especially why he was so willing to help Chris when she asked, and why he didn't ask too many questions. He probably already knew all the answers.

He must really hate the Joker, not only because he was terrorizing the city but also because the Joker killed Rachel, and twisted Harvey into a revenge-seeking killer. His manipulations then led Bruce to take the heat for Harvey's crimes to protect Harvey's good reputation and put him in the predicament that he's in now.

What he said to Alfred was right. Batman is needed in Gotham right now and it was horrible that he couldn't go out into the night and freely help without worrying about the police. He should be helping the police, working together with Commissioner Gordon instead of running away from them constantly.

She agreed with him that the only way for Batman to get in the good graces of the city and the police was to have him get rid of the Joker. The only problem with that was the fact that Bruce wanted to just lock the Joker up in a jail cell or in Arkham. She knew, as well as he must, that simply caging him up somewhere wasn't going to stop him for long.

It might stop the Joker but it won't stop him forever. He always finds a way to escape and she wasn't convinced that there was a cell secure enough in the world to hold him. No, the only way to really stop him was to kill him. She realized that Bruce will never be the one to kill the Joker.

No matter how much he may hate the Joker and want to see him dead, he will never cross that line because once you cross it there's no going back. She saw it happen to Jack. He started off doing exactly what Bruce is doing now. For a few weeks he just helped the police arrest and detain the bad guys. Then it blossomed into violence.

Once that happens, you're forever changed and it becomes more tempting to take the easy way out. Maybe he is right to not want to cross that line. He's protecting himself and Batman's integrity.

She had been thinking of a way to help protect Bruce from the Joker, although now that she knew that Bruce was Batman she wasn't sure he needed protecting. He has shown in the past that he can handle himself around the Joker. But now she realized how she could help him. She could kill the Joker and make it look like Batman did it.

That would solve several problems. It would free her of her twisted relationship with the Joker, save Gotham from any more violence and mayhem, and hopefully make everyone like Batman again. Who knows, maybe this could also help save her soul and make up for her role in the Joker's actions.

It would be difficult and take a lot of planning, and she didn't know if she actually carry it out without the Joker killing her first, but she would try. She resolved that she would either kill the Joker or die trying.

* * *

"I don't think we're going to get any more information of out of Crane." Commissioner Gordon sighed, throwing Crane's file onto his desk. "Especially now that he has his lawyer with him."

"I agree." Officer Locke agreed, sitting down in the chair across from Gordon. "But what about the reports that he was working with the Joker?"

Officer Locke was a fairly new recruit to Gotham. He was still considered a rookie, transferring in from California. Although he was young and didn't have a lot of experience being a cop, Gordon trusted him. He probably trusted him more than most of the other cops here.

"Oh, you're referring to the chatter we're hearing from the street?" Gordon asked. "Those are just rumors. We can't prove any of it. Now if we can find something solid linking them together then we'd have something to work with."

"Ok." Locke sighed. "So what exactly was confiscated from Crane's apartment?"

Gordon opened Crane's file. "Mostly just a bunch of papers and some unidentified vials of liquid. It looks like that apartment was just a place to store his work. It doesn't look like he actually made the contents of the vials there."

"So he must have another apartment or work space somewhere in the city." Locke observed.

"Yes." Gordon nodded. "The guys downstairs are going through the papers right now and the vials have been sent to the lab for analysis."

"Well I guess that's a start." Locke stated.

"His arraignment is scheduled for tomorrow morning. I have a feeling that the judge is going to send him to Arkham while awaiting the trial." Gordon said.

"Who wouldn't?" Locke chuckled. "I mean, look at what he tried to do this time. He tried to essentially brainwash people. And judging from the past history I've heard about this guy, that's just the latest in a string of bizarre antics."

"That's true." Gordon nodded. "Dr. Jonathon Crane wasn't always this eccentric but I guess something inside of him snapped." He paused for a moment.

"I want you to look over the papers we took from his apartment. I have too much to do with the Joker's recent crimes. The mayor and D.A. really pushing for something to be done about the Joker and are less concerned about Crane. But I think we need to be worried about both of them. I'd feel better if you went over the papers too."

"Sure thing." Locke nodded. He enjoyed the fact that the Commissioner trusted him and thought so highly of him, even though some of the more veteran cops often gave him a hard time about it. He could tell that there were some cops on this force who were corrupt or had been corrupt at one point and time. Those were the ones that always looked at him suspiciously. But it didn't bother him. He was raised to do the right thing, be ethical, and value loyalty.

"Thanks." Gordon replied. "Now go home and get some sleep."

* * *

Lacy awoke the next day to find bright rays of sunshine streaming into the room. She was amazed that she had gotten any sleep at all, but judging by how sluggish she felt, she hadn't gotten much sleep. She looked over and found that there was a note on her pillow.

_Lacy, _

_Just wanted to let you know that I went out to do an errand and won't be here when you wake up. Please stick around until I get back. I need to talk to you about something._

_Bruce_

She crumpled the note up and placed it on the table next to the bed, glancing at the clock. To her surprise it was already nine 'o'clock. She groaned, knowing she was going to be late for work again, but that was the least of her worries.

She thought back to last night. So much happened that it was overwhelming. She groaned again when she realized that she still had to go back to the police station and give her statement about last night. She still wasn't sure how much she was going to be able to tell the police without letting information slip out that she needed to keep secret.

She didn't want to go to the police station, but she also wasn't looking forward to going to work and facing everyone who knew Chris. There was no doubt in her mind that everyone knew about his death by now. This was not going to be a fun day and she hated the thought of going back to that building, but she needed to.

She needed to face down her demons. She would start with her aversion to elevators. When she left here, she would use Bruce's elevator. Then she would go to the Ace Consulting building. She would use the elevator there but was pretty certain that it would be considered a crime scene. There was a lot of evidence for the police to sift through and she doubted that they got it all done last night.

But before she went anywhere she needed to get up. She put on her robe and walked out of the guest room, heading straight for the kitchen. When she entered, she saw Alfred standing over the stove. "Morning." She softly greeted, sitting at the kitchen's island.

"Good morning Miss Williams." Alfred greeted back, turning around and smiling. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"A little." She nodded. "What smells so good?"

"I didn't know what you liked for breakfast so I made a little bit of everything. I have bacon, eggs, pancakes, and French toast. There's also some fresh fruit if you want to eat something healthy."

"Wow." She shook her head. "You have everything covered."

"I try." He smirked. "What can I get you to drink?"

"Do you have any orange juice?" She asked.

"Yes I do." He answered, and in a couple of short moments he placed a glass of orange juice in front of her. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."

"That's fine." She told him. "You didn't have to go to all of this trouble for me."

"It's no trouble." He assured her. "I love to cook, and besides, you have to be starving by now."

"Yeah. I am kind of hungry." She admitted. The last time she ate was around noon yesterday so her stomach was growling. "So if you don't mind me asking, where did Bruce go this morning?"

"He didn't say." Alfred replied. "He just said he had a few errands and would be back soon."

"Ah." She nodded. She hoped that Bruce came back soon because she felt like she needed to get going. Although she wasn't looking forward to going back to the office, she just wanted to get it over with.

Almost as if on cue, she heard footsteps, followed by a familiar voice.

"Ah, good, you're awake." Bruce greeted, stepping into the kitchen. "Did you get any sleep?"

"A little." Lacy told him.

"Well you look like you're doing better than you were last night." He smiled. "We were really worried about you. I'm glad you stayed here last night."

As he was talking she let her mind wander a little. She began to wonder if, underneath his clothes, he had scars from his adventures as Batman. She knew that the Joker had his share of scars, and not just the ones on his face. He had them all over his body. Some were self-inflicted, while others were obtained in combat. She couldn't help but wonder if Bruce had the same kind of thing going on with him.

But she shook that thought out of her head. It was none of her business if he had scars on his body. "Thank you for letting me stay here. I appreciate it."

"No problem. My home is always open to you anytime you need it. Which reminds me," he brought a bag out from behind him, "I got you something to wear. I figured that you would want something other than that robe to leave the penthouse in today."

"That's…," she couldn't think of the right word, "really sweet but unnecessary. Really. I don't know what to say."

"It was no problem." He assured her. "I hope it's alright. I'm not really used to picking out women's clothes."

"I'm sure it's alright," she told him, "just as long as it's not lime green or anything."

"Oh." The smile that was on his face fell. "Maybe you would be better off leaving in the robe."

"It's not lime green, is it?" She hurried over and took the bag, quickly opening the box. She shook her head as she pulled out the pair of jeans and red top. "Ha ha ha. Very funny."

"I got you!" He gloated. "I can't believe you actually thought I would buy something that was lime green. I haven't done that in at least two years."

She couldn't help but laugh, and was glad that he was a part of her life, even if she didn't deserve it. He always found a way to make her feel better, even if it was just to make her laugh. She needed that because it was going to be a long day. "So what did you need to talk to me about?"

"I wanted to know if you would have dinner with me tonight." He told her. "I realize today's not going to be an easy day and thought maybe you'd like the company of a friend."

She thought about it for a moment and realized that it would be a good chance for her to start enacting her plan to get rid of the Joker. "Sure."

"Good." He smiled. "I'll pick you up at seven."

"Ok. Sounds good." She nodded. A thought came to her head. "Oh, what did you do with my clothes from last night?"

"We threw them out." Alfred chimed in as he placed two plates on the kitchen island.

"Good." She smiled. If they threw her clothes out then that means that the note the Joker sent her was gone too. She knew that neither of them had read it because, if they had, then she wouldn't be receiving such a warm welcome. Maybe her plan could work out after all.


	41. Chapter 41

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read and/or reviewed this story! It is very appreciated.

Chapter Forty-One

"Thank you for breakfast Alfred, but I think I should be going." Lacy said, getting up. She had stuffed herself full of Alfred's delicious cooking and now the jeans that Bruce had brought her suddenly felt tighter.

"You're very welcome." Alfred smiled.

"You sure you have to go right now?" Bruce questioned.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I should probably get to the police station and give m report about what happened last night."

"Ok." Bruce nodded. "I'll walk you down." He assumed that she would be taking the stairs again.

"No, it's ok." She assured him, realizing he thought she was going to take the stairs. "I'm going to try and take the elevator. I need to face it sooner or later."

"Fair enough." He nodded again. "But at least let me take the elevator down with you."

"If you want." She conceded. She turned to Alfred. "I'll see you later."

"Goodbye Miss Williams." Alfred bowed his head.

The short walk to the elevator was silent as she didn't know exactly what to say to Bruce. Knowing that he was Batman complicated some things and made others simpler. It freed her from her belief that she had to protect him from the Joker, but also intensified her guilt and made her slightly uncomfortable around him.

If he ever found out her true connection to the Joker he would hate her. He would cease to be kind to her and their friendship would be over forever. There would be no way he could forgive her, no words she could say to express how sorry she was. He would simply hate her for it and she couldn't blame him for that.

"Are you sure you want to take the elevator?" He asked her as he held the doors open.

"Yes." She nodded confidently. "I have to face my fears. I can't let him dictate my life." She had done that for far too long and decided it was time to fight back.

"Then I guess all you have to do is get in." Bruce instructed.

She looked over at him and gave him a small smile. Taking a deep breath she entered the elevator and stood in the back. She watched Bruce push the button for the lobby and sighed. Her heart was racing and it felt like it was going to burst from her chest. Her mind kept thinking back to last time she was in an elevator.

She just kept reminding herself to breathe, as if that would help calm her nerves. Unconsciously, she looked up at the ceiling, half-expecting to see Chris' body tied up there. Although it was difficult for her to be in an elevator and the memories kept flooding back into her mind, she realized that this really was something that she needed to do. It was actually helping her and making her stronger.

It resolved her decision to go after the Joker and end this whole thing once and for all.

All of the innocent people who died because of him were going to be avenged. They were going to be given justice for their sacrifice. And, Batman was going to get the glory for it. But really, that's the way it should be.

"How are you doing?" He asked, gently touching her arm.

"I'll be fine." She replied softly. "I'm going to be fine."

He continued watching her, wondering what was going through her mind right now. She seemed to handling this rather well considering everything, but appearances are sometimes deceiving.

The doors dinged and then opened at the lobby and Lacy immediately stepped out. She turned to Bruce and gave him a small smile. "Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome." Bruce smiled back.

"I'll see you tonight at 7." She told him before slowly walking out of his building.

* * *

The Joker paced the length of his office, looking at the seven men he had called to his office. They were all lined up just as if they were military men but without the uniforms. "You may be wondering why I have called you here this morning."

He had experienced a brainstorm last night concerning the Crane problem and how to deal with it. He certainly couldn't have someone like Crane be in police custody or in Arkham. No, that was too risky. Crane needed to dealt with in a different manner.

He walked to the center and stood there, letting his head slowly turn to the left and then the right. "Dr. Crane will be getting out of police custody today, probably sometime around one or two. I have persuaded the judge hearing his arraignment trial to set his bail at a reasonable rate and will be putting up the money anonymously. Here's the plan."

* * *

"How did she handle the elevator?" Alfred questioned Bruce when he came back.

"She was shaken up but I think she will be ok." Bruce replied.

"You know, sir, pardon me for saying this but I don't think it was right to lie to her about the note we found in her clothes." Alfred sighed.

"We technically didn't lie to her about the note. She never asked if we threw away a note. She asked what happened to her clothes and we told the truth about that. They are thrown away." Bruce reasoned, pulling the note out of his pocket and holding it up for Alfred to see.

"Somehow I don't feel any better thinking about it as a technicality." Alfred shook his head. "That is her private property and I don't think we have any right to keep it, or read it."

"I have to disagree with you." Bruce told his friend. "What if this is a message from the Joker to her? What if he is threatening her? How can I protect her if I don't know what to protect her from?"

"This is wrong, and you know it is." Alfred pointed out.

"I normally would agree with you, but these are not normal circumstances." Bruce argued. "You're the one who has been basically saying that I need to take off the blinders I have with Lacy and make sure that there aren't any surprises waiting around the corner."

When Alfred didn't protest, he continued. "As Batman I need to be properly informed about this, and as Bruce Wayne I have an inherent curiosity. What if there is some kind of clue as to the Joker's whereabouts or plans? I need that information if I'm going to stop him."

"You are right about that." Alfred agreed. He did make a good point that as Batman he needed to know everything he possibly could. After thinking about it for a few moments he said, "so what's in the note?"

Bruce slowly opened the note and his eyes narrowed. After a few moments he looked up from the note and met Alfred's glance. "I was right."

* * *

Lacy entered the interrogation room right behind Commissioner Gordon and took the same seat she sat in last night. "I'm sorry I wasn't more forthcoming last night." She apologized.

"It's fine." Gordon assured her. "I realize that you were under a lot of stress and it must have been extremely difficult for you. Now, we already know that you are not responsible for this so please don't think that we are trying to pin anything on you. I simply want to know, in your own words, what happened."

"Ok." She took a deep breath. "I was sitting in my temporary office at Wayne Enterprises last night."

"You have a temporary office there?" Gordon interjected.

"Yes." She nodded. "It's because my firm is doing a consulting job for his company. Anyway, I was there talking to Bruce Wayne when I got a phone call from Chris. He wanted me to come over to his office at our firms' building."

"And why did he want to talk to you so late at night?" Gordon asked.

"I don't know." She lied. Lying was easier than telling the truth because if she told the truth, there was a chance that she would end up locked away in a cell. "He didn't say. He just said he needed to see me, but there was something in his voice that sounded almost desperate so I rushed right over."

"I see." Gordon nodded and wrote down a couple of notes. Although this session was being taped, he wanted his own set of notes. "So you rushed down there. Then what happened?"

"I entered the lobby and found the security guards slumped over their chairs. They had been shot in the head. I knew then that something really was terribly wrong and I started to get worried. I went over to the elevators and the only one that would open was the one of the far left."

Her lower lip started to tremble as she tried to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. Talking about this was a lot harder than she thought it would be.

Gordon realized she was having a hard time. "If you need to take a minute, please feel free to do so. You're not being held to a time limit or anything. You can take your time."

"Thank you." She took a few deep breaths and wiped her eyes. "Ok, um, where was I?"

"The elevator opened." Gordon prompted her.

"Right." She took one more deep breath. "I was in such a hurry to get up to his office that I didn't pay much attention at first. But then I noticed the words 'ha ha ha' on the elevator wall and the massive amounts of what looked like blood. After the doors closed I noticed that something was falling onto my shirt."

"That's when you saw Chris." Gordon inferred.

"Yeah." She nodded. "It's an image I'll never forget. It's burned into my mind. I suppose you've seen the photos of it by now, but to actually see it in real life, it's absolutely haunting and heartbreaking."

"I have seen the photos and I agree with you." Gordon told her. "So what happened in between the time the elevators closed and Mr. Wayne got you out of there?"

"Nothing really." She replied, leaving out the note she received from the Joker. Now that it had been thrown out by Alfred she didn't have to worry about it falling into the wrong hands. "I started to have a panic attack and I sat down on the floor to try to calm down. I have no idea how long I was actually in there with him but it felt like an eternity."

"I can imagine." Gordon sympathized. "It's perfectly understandable for a person in your situation to have a panic attack."

"I'm afraid I can't give you any details about who did this to him, although I have my suspicions that it was the work of the Joker." She told him.

"Why would you say that?" He asked.

"The words on the wall, the theatrics of the killing and the weapon of choice are just three things that point towards him. I don't have to be a criminal profiler to see the signs." She explained.

"Well we're working hard to find Mr. Stevens killer, as well as your bosses' killer." Gordon informed her. "It seems like the Joker is targeting people in your company. Any ideas on why?"

"No." She shook her head. "I have no idea why."

He wasn't sure whether or not he believed her. She didn't show the normal tell-tale signs of a person who was lying. She made good eye contact, didn't appear nervous, wasn't defensive and didn't fidget in her seat. But there was something that didn't seem right about her statement. He felt like she was leaving something out, but didn't know what it was.

"What exactly was your relationship with Mr. Stevens?" Gordon wondered out-loud.

"We were just friends." She answered. "He was a good guy, and a good friend."

"Ok." Gordon closed his notebook. "I think we have everything we need from you right now. If we have any more questions, we'll give you a call. In the meantime, you are free to go."

"Thank you Commissioner." She gave him a very small smile and then left the interrogation room.

Gordon stayed behind, leaning back in his seat and thinking about her statement. Something didn't sit well with him and he was determined to find the missing pieces of the puzzle. In the meantime he had to get over to court for Crane's arraignment hearing.


	42. Chapter 42

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who is supporting this story! It's appreciated greatly!!

Chapter Forty-Two

"Sir, what were you right about?" Alfred asked Bruce. All Bruce had said after opening up the note was 'I was right'. Then he went back to reading the note again. Although he was a patient man he found himself wanting to know what the note said.

After a few minutes of re-reading the note, Bruce shook his head and resisted the overwhelming urge he had to tear up the note. He found himself extremely angry and had to temper it so that he didn't start destroying things. Instead, he threw the note onto the kitchen island for Alfred to read. Without a word he left the kitchen to go do some investigating.

Alfred watched Bruce leave and picked up the note. Looking at it, he realized that there were parts that he couldn't quite make out because some blood had gotten on it in the elevator and smudged parts of the writing. He continued to read the parts that were ledgible though and by the end of it realized why Bruce had been so shocked.

"Oh dear." He said to the empty kitchen before going to find Bruce. It wasn't going to be hard to find him because the older man knew exactly where he went.

* * *

Gordon was at his desk, still fuming over the results of Crane's arraignment hearing when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in." He reluctantly said, wishing he could be alone. Actually, he wished he could be on a warm tropical island with his family, just relaxing and enjoying their company. But with everything going on here, he doubted he would get a chance to make that wish come true anytime soon.

"Is this a bad time?" Office Locke asked, poking his head into the office.

"It's as good of a time as any." Gordon sighed.

"What's wrong?" Locke asked, noticing Gordon's bad mood. "Hey, how did Crane's arraignment hearing go?"

Gordon laughed. "He's getting released as soon as he can come up with bail money."

"What do you mean?" Locke asked. "I thought the judge would send him back to Arkham."

"So did I," Gordon agreed, "but apparently Judge White didn't seen any reason to send him back there or keep him in police custody."

"You think maybe she was paid off by someone to release him?" Locke asked.

Gordon sadly nodded his head. "In this town, it's almost a certainty."

"Well if it helps I think I might have a lead on who might have wanted to get Crane out of police custody." Locke told him.

"Really?" Gordon couldn't help but be intrigued. "Who?"

"None other than the Joker. I think those rumors we've been hearing on the streets are right. I think they really are working together."

"Why do you think that?" Gordon asked.

"I think I have solid proof that they were in direct communication with each other." Locke proudly said, handing over a file folder.

"What is it?" Gordon asked.

"It's a few of the papers that were confiscated from Crane's apartment." Locke replied. "I think it helps prove that he really was trying to change people's personalities and that he was in cahoots with the Joker."

Gordon looked over the papers for a few minutes. "This is incredible."

"I know." Locke agreed. "There's notes about what personality traits the Joker wants this woman to have, as well as the ones she already has."

"Do we have a name for the woman the Joker wants to transform?" Gordon asked.

"Yeah." Locke told him. "It's on the last page and you're never going to guess who it is."

"Lacy Williams." Gordon whispered. "Well, it looks like it's a small world after all."

* * *

Alfred entered the room to find Bruce feverously typing on his computer. "What are you looking up?" He had an idea of what Bruce was trying to find but figured this would be a good way to start the conversation.

Without looking up or stopping what he was doing he answered. "When I first looked into Lacy's background I couldn't find much information on her husband. At the time I figured that it didn't really matter if I got information about him because he was supposedly dead and perhaps it wasn't any of business to go digging into that part of her life. Now I regret that decision."

"You know, many of the words on this note are smudged or completely covered." Alfred noted. "We may not know the whole story here."

"Alfred, this note was left for Lacy in the elevator last night by the Joker. The parts that you can read show that she is far more connected to the Joker than I originally thought. It alludes to the fact that she is married to him." He sighed. "I need to find out if it's the truth or just a game that the Joker's playing."

"I understand." Alfred nodded. "How can I help?"

* * *

Lacy walked up to her car, amazed that it was still in one piece and hadn't been broken into or towed. She was in such a hurry to get to Chris last night that she hadn't locked it and she was lucky that her purse was still safely sitting underneath the driver's seat where she left it.

She pulled out her cell phone and saw that she had twenty-seven new voicemails and forty-five missed calls. As she started walking towards the building she listened to a few of the voicemails. It seemed like everyone in the office was trying to get a hold of her to talk about what happened with Chris.

When she reached her office building she saw that there was still police tape around the entrance, preventing anyone from going inside. But there was a note attached to the glass.

_All Ace Consulting employees, _

_Due to the tragic murder of our own Chris Stevens, the building will be closed today while the police finish their investigation. There will be an informal get-together today at one at 1532 Frame St. for anyone who would like to share stories about Chris or talk about this tragedy. Please feel free to stop by._

She looked at her watch and saw that it was almost one now. A part of her felt like she should go and see her co-workers, if for no other reason than to assure them that she was alright and pay her respects to Chris. She was walking back to her car when her phone rang.

"Hello?" She answered without looking at the caller id. She assumed it was one of her co-workers trying to get a hold of her again.

"Well, I'm glad to know that you got out of the elevator alright and you're in one piece." The Joker's voice rang out.

She took a deep breath. "I don't have all day. Let's make this quick. What do you want?"

"Is that any way to treat your husband? I mean, really. That's not very nice." He pretended to be hurt by her annoyance with him. "You'll never win that wife of the year trophy with that attitude."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes. "What do you want? Why are you calling me?"

"Did you get my note?" He asked in a sing-song voice. "I wrote it especially for you."

"I got the note." She answered.

"Good." He replied. "There was one more thing I wanted to tell you that I forgot to put in the note."

"Just spit it out so I can get back to my life." She told him.

"I think it would be best for everyone involved if you stayed away from Bruce Wayne." He explained. "I don't feel comfortable with you two spending so much time together. I especially don't like that you spent the night at his place again last night."

"Well I don't care what you want or what makes you feel comfortable." She boldly told him.

He laughed at her boldness. "Fine, my dear. Have it your way. I have to go. I have other things to attend to today, but I have a feeling we shall be seeing each other again very soon."

She heard him hang up before she had a chance to say anything else. It was wrong of her to bait him, but it was difficult for her not to do so. Every time she spoke to him she just got so mad that she couldn't help herself. Sighing, she continued onward to her car.

* * *

"The boss says he wants this to be a clean job and no mistakes." Kyle told the other guy with him. They were on the roof of a building across from the police station, waiting for their cue and setting up their equipment. "Make sure that everything is set up correctly and that we can get out of here quickly once it's done."

"Sure thing." Ralph replied.

Crane was in the police station, getting ready to be released. He still wasn't sure why he was being released instead of put back in Arkham and that worried him. He wasn't a paranoid man but knew something wasn't right.

The judge at his arraignment hearing must have been paid off by someone, but the only person he could think of who would do that would be the Joker. Also, someone had paid his extremely high bail before he even had a chance to come up with the money. He was convinced that the Joker was behind this and didn't want to dwell on why.

There were only two reasons the Joker would try to help him right now. Either he wanted him to get out of jail so that he could continue with the plan to re-program Lacy and then eventually Batman, or else the joker wanted him dead and realized it would be easier to do if he was free.

The latter reason didn't please him but seemed more likely, especially since the police had confiscated all of his work and he would have to start from scratch. The Joker wasn't a patient man and wouldn't like having to wait even longer.

A small part of him actually wanted to stay in jail, hoping for safety in the plain four walls of a cell. But that was a naïve thought. If the Joker really wanted to kill him, there would be no safe place on Earth for him to hide.

"You're lucky Crane." Gordon told him as he finished processing the paperwork to release him. "Not many people in your situation get bail."

"I guess I'll just count my blessings on that one." Crane replied with a smile.

Gordon had wanted to question Crane one more time to ask him about his connection with the Joker but hadn't gotten a chance since Crane's bail was paid for so quickly. He had to admit that it was strange that his bail was taken care of like that, and wondered if the Joker had decided to spring his 'buddy' from jail. They would get a chance to find out though because he was going to have Crane followed as soon as he left police custody.

"You are now officially free to leave." Gordon told him.

"Thank you Commissioner Gordon. The accommodations here have been top-notch." Crane joked. He headed to the doors of the station, not sure he really wanted to leave. But he wasn't the type to let fear run his life so he took a deep breath and stepped outside.

Kyle's phone started to vibrate and the text message said 'Go'. He turned to Ralph. "The target is coming out any moment. Get ready." They both aimed their guns and waited for their target to come into their crosshairs.

Crane slowly walked down the steps of the police station, looking around as he did so. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to find but saw nothing out of the usual. He smiled. Perhaps he was being too paranoid.

"Ok." Kyle told Ralph. "As soon as you get him in your crosshairs, shoot."

"Alright." Ralph replied, rolling his eyes. It wasn't like he didn't know the plan. He had been there when the Joker explained it. But for some reason Kyle liked to pretend he was the boss.

Kyle waited for Crane to take one more step so that he would be in the crosshairs of his gun before shooting. The sound of the gunshot echoed through the streets as people started to panic and take off running.

Ralph looked and saw that Crane wasn't hit. "Damn it! You didn't hit him!" He shouted at Kyle. He repositioned his gun and took a few shots, eventually hitting Crane in the back and making him fall to the ground.

"We need to get out of here." Kyle panicked, knowing he had failed the Joker and was going to get punished later on. He started taking his gun apart.

"Yeah." Ralph replied, pointing his gun at Kyle. He didn't like having to do this but had no choice. It was the Joker's orders. If Kyle didn't complete the mission correctly, he was supposed to be killed because he had screwed up another mission a few weeks ago. This was his first and last chance to redeem himself.

"Sorry dude." Ralph said before shooting Kyle twice in the head. He then packed up the guns and left the scene before the cops could get him.


	43. Chapter 43

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Next chapter will feature the confrontation between Lacy and Bruce! Thanks for the support! Enjoy!

Chapter Forty-Three

Lacy walked up to the house at 1532 Frame St. and noticed that there were several cars lining both sides of the street. That didn't surprise her though. Chris was friendly with nearly everyone at the office and it was only natural that they all wanted to come together and share their grief.

She stood outside the door for a moment, debating whether or not to go inside. Earlier it had seemed like a good idea but now that she was actually here she wasn't sure. She decided that maybe this wasn't a good idea and turned to leave when the door opened.

"Lacy!" Ramona squealed as she ran to hug her. "Dear, how are you? We've all been calling you about a million times."

She was surprised by the hug and managed to give her co-worker a small smile. "Hi Ramona."

"Are you alright?" Ramona asked as she pulled out of the hug. "Oh how silly of me. Of course you're not alright! We all heard about how you were the one who found Chris last night. That must have been terrible!"

"You all know about that?" Lacy asked.

"Yes." Ramona nodded. "It's all over the news."

"Great." Lacy groaned.

"Come on in." Ramona said, linking her arm with Lacy's. "All of us were just sitting around and talking about Chris. Everyone will be glad to see you. We were all worried, especially since you didn't answer our phone calls."

"Sorry about that." Lacy said.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. We understand." Ramona assured her. She brought Lacy into the house and called for everyone's attention. "Excuse me, everyone. Look who's here!"

There were several 'hello's and 'hey's that came from the group as they all turned to look at her.

"Lacy!" Michelle exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and hugging her. "I'm so glad to see you're ok." She released Lacy from the hug and then went back to talking. "After what the news report said happened we all worried about you. I mean, to be trapped in that elevator with Chris strung up like that…I wouldn't have been able to take it. I would have just freaked out and…"

"You know, Michelle, I think Dave is trying to get your attention." Ramona lied, pointing to the other side of the room. "Maybe you should go see what he wants."

"Ok." Michelle said, giving Lacy one more hug. "You be strong, ok?"

"Sure." Lacy nodded. She looked over at Ramona with a grateful expression. "Thank you for that."

"It's no problem." Ramona replied. "She means well, really, but she doesn't know when to shut up. I didn't think you'd want to be reminded of what happened last night in such detail."

"I appreciate it." Lacy smiled. "It's bad enough I see it every time I close my eyes."

"I'm sure it will get easier in time." Ramona told her.

"Hopefully." Lacy replied. She was surprised that Ramona wasn't trying to get her to relive every detail. She usually was the one who would ask for every detail about the Joker, but maybe after everything that had happened with Chris and Mr. Drake's deaths she was finally starting to realize that the Joker wasn't as sexy as she originally thought.

The television was on in the background, and while she couldn't hear it over the noise of the crowd, the words on the news ticker at the bottom of the screen caught her attention. It read _Dr. Jonathan Crane was shot on the street right after being released from jail. No word yet on his condition Details to follow._

So the Joker strikes again. She was certain that the shooting was the work of the Joker, especially after what Crane had told her last night. He had been working with the Joker. The Joker probably didn't like it that Crane got arrested and wanted to prevent him from saying or doing anything to double cross him.

She didn't feel sorry for Crane because he wasn't a good man. She did, however, feel anger towards the Joker and grew more resolved to stop him.

She turned back to Ramona. "You know, I just remembered that there's something I have to do. I'm sorry but I have to leave."

"Really?" Ramona asked, disappointed. "But you just got here."

"I know." She smiled apologetically. "But it's really important."

"Ok." Ramona smiled back. "Take care of yourself."

"You too." Lacy said before hurrying out of the house.

* * *

"Sir, you may want to look at this." Alfred told Bruce. They had been working to find more information on Lacy's husband but Alfred's attention had been caught by the news.

"What is it?" Bruce asked with a sigh as he stopped typing and looked up at the television.

_As we first reported earlier, Dr. Jonathan Crane was shot on the street today after being released from police custody. Police are being sketchy on the details of his arrest as well as his current condition. We will keep you up to date as this story continues to unfold._

"You think this has anything to do with the Joker?" Alfred asked.

"I don't know." Bruce replied. "What would he have to gain with Crane dead?"

"It's anybody's guess." Alfred sighed. "Do you want me to look into it?"

"No." Bruce shook his head. "We don't have time for that right now. That will have to wait for a moment."

A few minutes passed before Alfred spoke again. "Any luck on finding more information?"

Bruce continued to type for a few more moments before looking at Alfred. "I found a picture of him. It's printing right now, as well as a picture of the Joker."

Alfred realized that Bruce was going to compare the pictures. "How are you going to tell though with all the makeup?"

"It shouldn't be too hard to tell bone structure." Bruce answered. He picked up both pictures from the printer and stared at them, motioning for Alfred to come look too. "I need your opinion. Am I crazy or do they look the same, except for the makeup and scars?"

Alfred hated to admit it, but Bruce was right. "You're not crazy. The two bare an uncanny resemblance."

"Do you know what this means?" Bruce asked the anger and rage boiling inside him.

"Lacy married the Joker before he was the Joker." Alfred stated. "Didn't you tell me that she grew up with him?" When he saw Bruce shake his head he continued. "So then most likely he wasn't always the Joker. If he had been, wouldn't he have some kind of police record? Something had to have triggered his behavior."

Bruce shook his head. "Even if that's the truth and he wasn't a psychopath when she married him, then why hasn't Lacy turned him in to the police? Why has she been a willing accomplice to his crimes?"

"I don't know sir. That's something you should ask her." Alfred decided to play devil's advocate. "But keep this in mind. The Joker is very persuasive and manipulative. Plus, we don't know what Lacy's life has been like. Maybe she had no choice but to go along with the Joker."

"What if she's been working with the Joker all this time?" Bruce thought out-loud. "What if she's been playing me for a fool this whole time?"

"You can't honestly believe that." Alfred said.

"I don't know what to believe." Bruce told him. "All I know is that Lacy is married to the man who has been making me life, as well as everyone else in Gotham's lives miserable for the past few years. This is the guy who killed Rachel, turned Harvey evil, has killed countless other people, and has turned me into the bad guy."

"And she's married to him." He started to pace around the room. "What does that say about her?"

"That she made a bad decision?" Alfred hypothesized.

"Do you realize that I was almost in a love triangle with the Joker?" Bruce asked

Alfred had to stifle a chuckle at that thought, but he knew that if he laughed right now Bruce would get even angrier. "Well, sir, almost doesn't count."

"I don't know what to do with this information." Bruce stated plainly.

"You're supposed to have dinner with her tonight." Alfred reminded him. "Why don't you go to her apartment and confront her about this? Ask her for her side of the story?"

"But how can I trust anything she says to me?" Bruce asked softly. "I feel like everything she's told me has been a lie."

"Not everything has been a lie." Alfred reminded him. "She just hasn't always told the whole truth. But think about it from her side for a moment. Would you really want to tell people that you are married to the Joker? I wouldn't if I were her."

"Why are you defending her?" Bruce asked, confused about why Alfred was being so compassionate towards Lacy right now. "You have been suspicious of her all along. You knew that there were things she wasn't telling the whole truth about. Shouldn't you be telling me that you were right?"

"I just don't think that we should condemn her before we know all the facts." Alfred replied. He had grown rather fond of her and hated to think that she was actually helping the Joker commit his crimes.

Bruce tried to calm the anger inside of him. "Ok. I will calmly confront her about the Joker and see what she says. Does that make you happy?"

"Overjoyed, sir." Alfred chuckled. "Now, let's find out more information about Dr. Crane."

* * *

"What happened?" The Joker angrily asked Ralph when he returned to the warehouse.

"Kyle decided to take his shot first but he missed. By that time everyone was running around panicked. I did what I could under the circumstances and shot Crane, but I don't know if it was enough to kill him." Ralph explained.

"And Kyle isn't here because…"

"Because I killed him like you asked." Ralph replied nervously. "He failed the mission so I took him out."

"Good." The Joker praised. "It's nice to see someone actually following my orders around here. Let's just hope your shot was enough to kill Crane. Now get out of here."

"Yes boss." Ralph nodded before leaving the room.

Once Ralph left the room, the Joker went back to what he was doing. He had watched this tape a few times now, and still loved seeing it. He hoped that Gotham enjoyed it as much as he did, but he would have to be patient and wait for just the right time to release it to them.

* * *

"How is he?" Gordon asked the doctor who was working on Crane.

The doctor motioned for Gordon to come into the room with him so they could be alone. "It looks like he will be ok. The bullet entered through the back and went right through him, but amazingly enough didn't puncture the spine or any organs. He's sedated right now and should be able to be released in a couple of days."

Gordon carefully absorbed this information. He had no doubt in him mind that the Joker organized this whole thing. He must have bribed Judge White to release Crane and then paid his bail so that he could get him out in the open. Then he would kill him.

He had made sure that no one at the hospital or the station gave out any details about Crane's condition. The last thing he needed was to have the Joker or his goons come down to the hospital to finish the job.

Crane was the only one who could give them the information they need about the Joker and possibly where his hideout is, but if he stays here in the hospital he doesn't stand a chance of living long enough to tell anyone.

Perhaps there was a way to ensure Crane's safety long enough to convince him to talk. "Thank you, doctor. Now if you don't mind, I have a favor to ask you. It's a big one, but it's for the good of the city."


	44. Chapter 44

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Enjoy!

Chapter Forty-Four

"It's kind of nice to be back here." Dale said to Chip as they got everything set up in the apartment they used for their surveillance of Lacy. "She's been spending too much time at Bruce Wayne's. I'm sure the boss will like it that she's back in her own apartment for a while."

"Yeah." Chip agreed. "I agree."

"Is everything set back up?" Dale asked.

"Yeah." Chip nodded. "We should be able to get audio and visual of everything that happens in her apartment again."

"Good." Dale smiled.

* * *

"So the press still thinks that Crane is dead, right?" Locke asked Gordon when they entered the police car.

"Yes." Gordon answered from the driver's seat. "Which is why we are taking him to a safe house. The doctor will take care of everything. How is he doing back there?"

Locke was sitting in the back with Crane. "He's still sedated but he's alive."

"Good." Gordon nodded. "Now we just need him to wake up so we can get him to talk."

* * *

Lacy put on her heels and looked at the clock. She had lost track of the time earlier while trying to come up with a plan to get rid of the Joker, but fortunately she was still able to get ready on time. Bruce would be here any minute, but all she needed to do was grab her purse and she would be ready to leave.

When there was a knock on the door, she knew it had to be him. She opened the door to find him standing on her welcome mat. "Hi."

"Hi." He replied, trying to muster up a smile. It was taking all of his self-restraint not to yell at her, but he had to try and be calm.

She picked up her purse and smiled back. "Ok. I'm ready."

"Actually," he stopped her, "I was hoping we could talk for a moment first."

"Ok." She replied, putting her purse down and moving so that he could come in. "What's going on?" She took a closer look at him and noticed that something was bothering him. She tried not to be paranoid but felt like he somehow knew everything.

"I don't know how to say this or ask this." He started. "I guess I'll let the pictures do the talking for me."

"What pictures?" She asked, laughing nervously.

"These." He took out two pictures from his suit pocket and placed them on the coffee table. Then he motioned for her to come take a look at them.

She slowly walked over and sat on the couch, taking a look at the pictures. She was horrified to see that the picture on the left was of the Joker with his makeup on and the picture on the right was of Jack before he got the scars. Not sure where Bruce was going with this, she decided to play it cool. "Ok. Why am I looking at these pictures?"

"Notice any resemblance between the Joker and a person you used to know?" He asked.

"Should I?" She asked innocently, keeping her eyes on the pictures.

"Don't play games with me Lacy." He warned. "I know everything that you've been trying to hide from me. I know that you are married to the Joker."

She closed her eyes, wishing that this wasn't happened. But she knew that her worst fears had just come true. "What do you want me to say?" She whispered.

"I want you to say it's not true!" Bruce yelled. "I want you to tell me that I'm wrong and that the Joker isn't your husband!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that." She replied, afraid to look at him. She was aware that if she looked at him she was see hatred and anger in his eyes and she wasn't ready for that.

"Why would you marry someone like that?" He asked, trying to understand.

"I didn't know that he was this troubled until after Alexis died." She explained. "That's when everything started to crumble. He transformed from kind Jack that I thought he was into the persona of the Joker. And even in the beginning he tried to do good things, but eventually he became completely twisted and evil."

"Why didn't you stop him from the start?" Bruce asked.

"I don't know." She answered honestly. She could list off the reasons, but knew that if she vocalized them they would sound hollow and meaningless.

"He's done so many bad things to this so many people." Bruce started to pace around her living room. "How can you stand by and let him do it?"

"You think I want to see him kill people?" She cried. "I don't! I wish I had found a way to stop him when this whole thing started but I couldn't. I thought that there was still good in him. I thought he could be redeemed, and then when I realized that he couldn't I was powerless to stop him."

"No you weren't." He told her. "You could have turned him in to the police, you could have sent him to Arkham, or you could have turned him in to Batman. There were ways to stop him."

"Why would I turn him in to the authorities or to you for that matter?" She exclaimed, getting up and walking over to the window. "The police can't hold him in custody, Arkham can't hold him either, and you can't do anything but turn him over to authorities. You could've stopped him for good by killing him but you didn't because you don't want to cross that line so don't tell me that…"

"Wait a minute." He commanded, interrupting her. "What do you mean by 'turn him into me'?" He was confused by her comment. Did she know that he was Batman?

"I know, Bruce." She quietly told him. "It seems I'm not the only one with a secret. I know you're Batman."

Bruce managed to laugh. "That's crazy. I don't know what you're talking about."

"I've come clean to you, now it's your turn." She replied, still unable to look at him. "I heard you and Alfred talking last night. I know that you are Batman, but don't worry I haven't told anyone else and I don't intend to either."

"Well forgive me, but I don't exactly have the same kind of trust in you that I used to." Bruce sarcastically responded.

"So it's true then?" She asked.

He could have denied it, but he doubted she would believe it. There was no way out of it. "Yes, it is."

* * *

"Oh my God." Chip exclaimed, looking over at Dale. The information they had just heard was mind-boggling. "She's the Joker's wife?"

"And Bruce Wayne is Batman?" Dale added.

"We have to tell the Joker about this right now." Chip said, already picking up the phone and dialing.

"Yeah?" The Joker answered, pausing the tape he was watching for the hundredth time.

"We have some news." Chip told him. "Bruce Wayne is in her apartment right now and they are having an argument."

"Ok." The Joker sighed. "Why did you feel the need to tell me that they are arguing?"

"Because of what they are arguing about." Chip explained. "Bruce is accusing her of being married to you and she's accusing him of being Batman."

The Joker almost dropped the phone when he heard that. He realized it would only be a matter of time before someone realized the connection between him and Lacy, but never thought it would be Bruce Wayne. Of course if he was Batman, then that made sense.

"Bruce Wayne is Batman?" The Joker repeated with a laugh. "Has he denied it?"

"No." Chip replied. "In fact, he just confirmed it."

It would make sense if Bruce Wayne was Batman. He had originally thought that maybe Bruce just funded Batman's escapades, but now he knew the truth. Well this would make everything much more interesting. Perhaps now would be the perfect time to escalate his plans for Lacy.

"Keep me informed." The Joker told them before hanging up. He had to work fast in order to accomplish what he wanted. There was no time for reflection. It was time for action.

* * *

There was a long silence after Bruce admitted that he was Batman, and Lacy finally turned around to face him. When she looked into his eyes, she could see the anger inside of him and it broke her heart. "I'm sorry. I really am. I know it doesn't mean much and my words must sound hollow to you, but I never meant for any of this to happen."

"You're right." He nodded. "Your words do sound hollow to me."

"If I could go back I would change everything I would in a heartbeat." She assured him. "But unfortunately I can't do that. I can only try to move forward and get on with my life."

"That's something his victims don't have the luxury of doing." Bruce pointed out.

"I know." She sighed. "But you act like this means nothing to me. You have no idea how guilty I feel every day about everything that he has done to this city, to my friends and to you. He's taken a lot from all of us."

"Am I supposed to feel guilty for you?" Bruce asked, not sure he was really hearing her correctly. "Because I don't. How do I know that you haven't been working with him this whole time?"

"I would hope that you know I haven't." She told him. "I try to stay away from him as much as possible and I've never helped him with any of his crimes."

"You've been his accomplice all these years by not turning him in."

"I know." She nodded. "I curse myself everyday for not having the courage and tenacity to do something to stop him. But there's only one way to stop him and that's to kill him. Until recently I couldn't even think of doing it because I still believed that deep down inside Jack was still there and he could still be a good man."

She saw Bruce roll his eyes at her statement. "I know that sounds crazy and messed up to you, but it's the way my mind has worked."

"You're right. I do think it sounds crazy." Bruce agreed, shaking his head. "This guy is a psychopath. There is no good in him."

"I see that now, but it's much easier to overlook a person's flaws when you love them." She pointed out. "The bottom line is that whether or not you believe me, I'm sorry for everything that he has taken away from you. So go on. Continue to yell at me if you want. If it will make you feel better, do it."

She saw the confused look on his face and explained. "There's nothing that you can say to me that will make me feel any worse than I already do. I already feel like the worst person in the world, so just let me have it. I know you must be angry with me and you must hate me, so go ahead."

He was silent for a few moments before quietly responding. "I don't necessarily hate you."

"You have every right to." She told him. "I wouldn't blame you if wanted to see me dead or put in jail for the rest of my life. I probably deserve it anyway."

"You deserve a lot of things my dear, but a jail cell is not one of them." A voice from the bedroom announced.

"Shit." Lacy whispered softly, recognizing the voice and closing her eyes. She thought maybe if she closed her eyes she could wake up and this would all be a dream. When she opened her eyes again, she saw it wasn't a dream. It was more like a nightmare.


	45. Chapter 45

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Enjoy!

Chapter Forty-Five

"Well, this sure is an interesting threesome we have going on here." The Joker exclaimed, his face beaming with excitement.

Lacy wasn't sure what to do. She looked at Bruce and then at the Joker, trying to figure out what to say. She could see it in Bruce's face. The fact that the Joker showed up right now didn't help her chances of persuading him that she wasn't helping the Joker.

Bruce wished he could say that he was surprised to see the Joker, but in some ways he almost expected it. He suspected that Lacy was in some way helping the Joker and this only helped confirm his suspicions.

"Isn't anyone going to say anything?" The Joker asked in a disappointed voice. It had been several minutes since he had made him presence known and neither of them had said a word. "Then I guess I'll have to get this party started."

He walked over to Lacy and put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close despite her attempts to break free. "I can see why you have been so interested with my lovely wife over here." With his free hand he gently stroked her hair. "She is rather attractive, isn't she?"

"Let go of me." Lacy growled, still struggling to break out of his grasp.

"Not yet my pet." The Joker replied, looking over at her. "Now be quiet. Can't you see I'm trying to have a conversation with Batman right now?"

She closed her eyes, wishing that this was a bad dream. How did the Joker find out that Bruce was Batman? The only way she could reason it was if he had placed a listening device in the apartment because tonight with Bruce was the first and only time she had voiced her discovery. She looked over at Bruce and saw that he was blaming her for the Joker finding out.

Bruce couldn't believe it. The Joker now knew about him being Batman. He thought about it and realized the only way he could have found out was if Lacy told him. He conceded that it wasn't the only way he could have found out, but it was the most likely scenario.

The Joker turned back to Bruce. "And you can save your breath. There's really no use in trying to deny it. I already know it to be true." When Bruce still didn't respond, the Joker got amused. "What's wrong? Bat got your tongue?"

"I'm just wondering why you would choose to believe such a far-fetched lie." Bruce explained. "To think that I am Batman is preposterous."

"I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on that one." The Joker replied. "Because I think that you really are Batman and Lacy does too." He looked down at Lacy with a fake smile. "Don't ya sweetheart?"

"No." She lied, hoping against hope that the Joker would believe her.

"Now you should know by now not to lie to me." He said, slapping her hard across the face.

It was a hard enough slap that it made her fall back and she was able to get out of his grasp. She brought her hand up to her cheek and winced slightly as she touched the sore skin. Her hand rose up to strike him, but was stopped before she could make contact.

"You need to behave." He told her, releasing her hand.

"You're a bastard." She spat out angrily.

"I know." He nodded, turning his attention back to Bruce. "You know, I don't like people playing with my things, so you can imagine how dismayed I was that you started spending so much time with Lacy."

"Honestly, I don't care if you were dismayed." Bruce retorted.

"No, I'm sure you don't." The Joker said. He looked over at Lacy, who was still holding her cheek. "Aren't you going to ask how your beloved is doing?"

"She's not my beloved." Bruce informed his rival. She was his friend and at one time he wondered if she could be more than that, but now it wasn't a possibility.

"This is awkward." The Joker said, looking over at Lacy. "Looks like your lover boy over there just dumped you."

"He's not my lover boy." She denied, knowing it was useless. He wouldn't believe her anyway.

The Joker laughed. "Well I think that is enough small talk, don't you?" No one replied so he continued. "I did bring another form of entertainment for tonight. I hope you two like it." He picked up the remote for the television and turned it on, making sure that it was on GCN.

"Oooh goodie!" The Joker exclaimed happily. "It looks like we're just in time. They are about ready to show it."

"Show what?" Lacy asked, not sure she really wanted to know the answer.

"If I tell you it won't be a surprise." He replied. "Now, both of you just watch the television."

Bruce looked at Lacy and then back at the Joker. With a sigh, he realized that he had nothing to lose by playing the Joker's little game and watching the television report. But after the report was done, he would kick the Joker's ass. He still wasn't sure what to do with Lacy.

Lacy looked at Bruce, wishing she could have a few minutes along with him to try to persuade him that she wasn't helping the Joker and she didn't tell the Joker about his secret. She hated knowing that Bruce's opinion of her was forever tarnished and destroyed. He had been her one true friend and she let him down.

She wondered briefly if she could make it to the kitchen without the Joker stopping her. If she could get to her kitchen knives maybe she could attack the Joker with them and finally put a stop to his reign of terror.

She tried to plan her route in her head. For the moment she was in the living room close to the window. The kitchen was at least twenty-five feet away, if not more. She might be able to make it, but only if Bruce blocked the way and helped her. Too bad she couldn't count on that. Bruce seemed mad enough at her right now that he could leave her alone and let the Joker kill her.

With a sigh, she realized that her plan to escape to the kitchen would have to wait until she could get a little closer. So she focused on the news report that he seemed so keen on having them watch.

"_Good evening citizens of Gotham." Mike Engel reported. "We have just received a videotape of the Joker that we are going to share with you. Please be advised that this is a video that can get explicit at times. We have done our best to edit out the more explicit parts but this video is not intended to be viewed by children."_

"You want us to watch a video?" Lacy asked, confused. "Why would we want to watch this? It's probably you torturing or killing someone."

"No, my dear." The Joker shook his head. "It's much more interesting than that."

Lacy shook her head in resignation and turned back to the television, not surprised when the Joker's face appeared.

"_People of Gotham, as you know I've been a part of this fine city for quite a while now and while I feel like I've made a significant impact on you, I also feel you haven't gotten a fair chance to get to know me. That's why I've released this video—so you can see a…different side of me." _

"_Like I said, in this video you will get to see a different side of me but you will also get to meet the someone special in my life. Some of you may know her, while others may simply know of her given how her name has appeared in the newspapers recently. But I think you all will get a better understanding of her once you have seen this video." _

"_The woman I am introducing you all to is my lovely wife of countless years. You may know her as Lacy Williams. Anyway, enough talking. I hope this video is as fun for you to watch as it was fun for me to make."_

Lacy groaned when she heard the Joker expose their marriage to all of Gotham City. How was she supposed to show her face in this town? It was bad enough that Bruce now knew about it. "Why did you do that?" She yelled at him.

The Joker simply laughed. "Oh just wait. It gets better. I promise."

_After a few seconds of static on the video, a new image appeared on the screen. It was Lacy's bedroom, and she was standing there with the Joker. There was no sound but it was painfully obvious what was about to happen. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hungrily dove in for a kiss, which she returned. There were a few more moments of kissing before clothes started to be shed and the two bodies fell onto the bed. _

Lacy couldn't take it anymore and reached for the remote, which was still in the Joker's hand. But he was delighting in the fact that he had the remote and wasn't going to give it up until Lacy saw the whole video.

After struggling with him to get the remote for a few moments, she sighed and walked over to the television, pulling the plug from the socket. "What the hell was that?" She yelled. She couldn't believe that he had taped them having sex and then proceeded to broadcast it to the world.

She couldn't bear to look over at Bruce, afraid of his reaction. All she wanted to do right now was crawl up into a ball in the corner.

The Joker simply laughed. "I think you know what that was, but if you want I can narrate it for you."

The anger inside of her started to boil over as she thought about everything that he had done to her over the years. "You son of a bitch!" She yelled, advancing on him. She started kicking and punching him, getting angrier when all he did was laugh at her attempts to hurt him.

Without much warning, she felt his hands around her neck. He was choking her and she tried to struggle, tried to loosen his grip but he was too strong for her. She managed to look at Bruce, gasping as she pleaded with him to help but for the moment he was just watching.

"It's like I wrote you in that note." He told her, smiling as he continued to tighten his grip on her neck. "I have afforded you too many free passes over the years. Now when you go against me you have to pay the consequences."

Bruce watched the scene play out in front of him, not sure whether to try and help Lacy or let her fend for herself. As angry, hurt and confused as he was, he couldn't stand by and do nothing. He moved over to the Joker and pulled him off of Lacy. As he did that he saw Lacy fall to the floor, lying motionless.

"Ah, so Batman finally wants to play." The Joker smirked. "Well let's play."

They started fighting, each getting in a few good punches to each other's faces. Bruce knew that he could win against the Joker in a hand to hand fight but didn't notice the Joker pull out a knife.

The Joker knew he had to slow Bruce down for a while so that he could get out of here with Lacy. Punching him wasn't going to slow him down so he pulled out his knife and stuck it into Bruce's shoulder three times.

Bruce recoiled in pain, wishing he was wearing his Kevlar suit. The pain was so intense that he fell to his knees.

"Sorry to end this party so early, but my wife and I have some unfinished business to take care of." He picked up Lacy's limp body and ran off.

Bruce grimaced as he pulled the knife from his body. He couldn't believe that he let the Joker get away but he was in no shape to chase after him. He would go back to the penthouse, get stitched up, change into the Batman suit and then go after him.


	46. Chapter 46

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has been reading and/or reviewing this story. I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Forty-Six

"Is he settled in?" Gordon asked Locke. They had arrived at the safe house and Locke had been given the job of taking Crane into the bedroom to make sure that he could rest. He would need all the rest he could get because when he woke up they would be pressuring him to tell everything he knows about the Joker.

"He's fine." Locke replied. "So how are we going to keep up with this charade of his death?"

"Hopefully it won't last for long." Gordon asked. "Ideally, we will be able to get the information we need from Crane as soon as he wakes up."

"And if we don't?" Locke asked. "It's going to be difficult to keep an eye on him and not raise suspicions. One of us is going to have to be here at all times."

"I know." Gordon nodded. "We'll figure it out when the time comes."

Locke sighed. "Fair enough."

Gordon's cell phone rang and he didn't want to answer it in case it was his wife asking when he would be home. He didn't want to have to tell her that he would be very late tonight. Thankfully, as he looked at the caller id, he saw it was the station. "Gordon."

"Commissioner, there's something you really need to see." Officer Sullivan told him. "Are you close to a television right now?"

"Yes, I am. What's going on?" He asked, moving towards the television.

"It's not something I particularly want to describe. You pretty much have to see it to believe it." Sullivan replied. "Turn on the television to GCN."

Gordon did as Sullivan asked and was shocked to see the footage of the Joker and Lacy. "What the hell is that?"

"It looks like a homemade sex tape." Locke explained. "And a high quality one too. The video isn't even that grainy or stringy…" he looked over and saw Gordon giving him a weird look. "Oh, sorry. That was probably a rhetorical question."

Gordon shook his head and went back to watching the television.

_The video stopped and Mike Engel appeared on the screen. "If you are just now joining us that is footage from a video we received tonight from the Joker. The video goes on to reveal more explicit images but we have obviously edited it for television. Some of the scenes become extremely disturbing in many ways. In the introduction of the video, the Joker proclaims that the woman in the video is his wife, Lacy Williams."_

"_You may remember her name because she has been in the news as a victim of the Joker's crimes, although given the existence of this video, though now we can't be sure that she truly is a victim. She was a guest at the recent Wayne Foundation fundraiser which the Joker appeared at and killed prominent Gotham businessman Benjamin Newman. Last night she was the one who found the body of fellow Ace Consulting employee Chris Stevens in the elevator of the Ace Consulting offices."_

Gordon turned the television off, having had enough of the news report. He brought the phone back up to his ear. "Sullivan, are you still there?"

"Yes sir." Sullivan replied.

"Go to GCN and get the tape. We need to have the boys in the lab examine it, make sure it's real and everything." Gordon commanded.

"Yes sir." Sullivan answered.

"Where is Lacy?" Gordon asked.

"We don't really know." Sullivan reported.

"How do we not know?" Gordon asked, getting frustrated. "We have our people following her, right?"

"Actually, no. The two officers who were following her were found dead in their car not too far away from her apartment." Sullivan explained. "Their throats were slit."

"The Joker." Gordon mumbled. "He probably killed the cops to get to Lacy."

"It's possible." Sullivan pondered. "What do you want us to do about her?"

"Put out an APB on Lacy Williams. I want every available cop out there looking for her." Gordon ordered. "I'm heading back to the station now. I should be there soon." He hung up the phone and looked at Locke. "The Joker killed the cops running surveillance on Lacy. So now we have no idea where she is."

"Why did you put out the APB on her?" Locke asked.

"We need to find her and get her to talk. We need to know everything she knows about the Joker." Gordon explained. "I knew that there was something she was hiding from me but I never dreamed it was that she was his accomplice."

"Wait." Locke thought about this for a moment. "Something doesn't seem right."

"What do you mean?" Gordon asked, confused.

"Well think about it. If she really was his accomplice, why would he voluntarily expose that secret to the city? Assuming that she has been helping him all this time, why would he choose now as the time to ruin that? Because now that we and the public know about her connection to her, she's going to be ostracized by the public and hunted by us. She won't be able to help him at all."

"So what are you thinking?" Gordon asked. He thought he had an idea of what Locke was suggesting but wanted to make sure and hear it from him.

"What if she hasn't been helping him but just keeping his secret? What if he's decided to get rid of her now? So he exposes her secret to the city, thereby ruining any friendships or connections she had in the real world and leaving her vulnerable to him. Then he kills the cops keeping tabs on her and takes her somewhere to kill her." Locke hypothesized.

Gordon sighed. That was exactly what he thought Locke would say. "It makes sense. Either way though, we need to find Lacy and quickly. I'm going to go back to the station. See if you can wake Crane up and find out any information from him that might be useful. Call me if you have any problems or find out anything."

"Sure thing." Locke nodded in acknowledgment.

* * *

Bruce stumbled into the penthouse, eager to have Alfred help him stitch up the knife wounds the Joker inflicted upon him. "Alfred!" Bruce yelled, but got no response. He walked through the penthouse, continuing to yell out for Alfred but not seeing him. He found himself in front of Alfred's room.

"What a time for you to be sleeping." He entered the room but didn't find Alfred. Instead, he found a note on the floor. So he picked it up and read it.

_The game has begun. I now have your beloved butler in my possession. Let's hope he doesn't end up like your good friend Rachel Dawes, or like Lacy. _

_Catch me if you can. _

_J_

He angrily crumbled the piece of paper and slammed his fist into the wall. "Dammit!"

He should have known that the Joker would go after Alfred, but unfortunately didn't have a chance to warn his friend in time to help him. He couldn't let Alfred end up like Rachel. He just couldn't. With renewed determination, he took a deep breath and went to stitch up his wounds so that he could go hunt down the Joker.

* * *

"Can you believe it?" Chip asked Dale as they rode back to the warehouse. Now that Lacy was with the Joker at the warehouse there was no need for them to be watching her so they were going back to the warehouse to get their new assignment. I can't believe it. When I made that bet with you I only thought they were just having sex. I never dreamed that they were actually married!"

"I know." Dale replied with less enthusiasm than his friend.

"Oh come on!" Chip punched his friend's arm. "You aren't still bitter about losing the bet, are you?"

"You won the bet fair and square because you did get proof of a relationship between them. That video is more proof than I really ever wanted to see. But twenty-five thousand dollars is a lot of money to lose." Dale pointed out.

"If you didn't want to lose it then you shouldn't have bet it to begin with." Chip argued.

"Well I obviously didn't think I was risking anything by betting it." Dale sighed. "Really! What are the chances that they would end up being married?"

"I know!" Chip laughed. "It's so weird to think of the Joker doing something so ordinary like getting married. Do you think he loved her?"

"I don't know." Dale shook his head. "I guess anything is possible."

* * *

Lacy woke up on the floor in the back of the Joker's van after passing out. She rubbed her neck, certain that he had left marks. She looked up and saw the Joker staring at her. "Why am I here with you?"

He laughed. "I thought it was time we had our…second honeymoon."

She didn't like the way he said that and realized that nothing good was going to come from this. "What did you do to Bruce?"

"I didn't kill him." He told her. "So don't worry." The van stopped and the side door opened. He picked up her by her arm and practically pushed her into the warehouse.

"Why did you tape us having sex?" She asked when they were left alone in what looked like his office. "And why did you think it would be a good idea to air it on the news?"

"I thought you would be appreciative." He told her. "Most celebrities find that their careers improve tenfold after the release of a sex tape. I was just trying to help you."

"First of all I'm not a celebrity…"

"Oh you are now!" he exclaimed happily.

She resisted the urge to slap him, certain that if she tried he would only knock her down. "And second of all, you didn't do it to help me. You did it to hurt me. I hate you so much."

"I know, I know." He rolled his eyes. "You hate me but yet you find me strangely attractive, as evidenced by that video. Speaking of that video, let's see what the news is saying about it, shall we?" He turned on the television.

"_We have been trying to get a hold of Miss Williams, but she has yet to return our calls. Now I don't know what the circumstances behind the making of this video were, but in my opinion it doesn't seem like Miss Williams was protesting the actions of the Joker. Let's open it up to callers. Hello? You're on the air. What's your comment?" _

"_Hello?" The caller said hesitantly. "Mr. Engel?" _

"_Yes, hello…Mary." Mike answered. "What would you like to say on this subject?" _

"_I would just like to say that I can't believe any self-respecting woman would allow herself to be handled in that way by someone as sick as the Joker. She should be ashamed of herself." Mary replied._

"_And how do you feel about the rumor that they are married?" Mike asked. _

"_I'm sickened by it. Why would anyone want to marry that?" Mary asked, the disgust apparent in her voice. "I mean, he is a psychopathic killer. I know women usually fall for bad boys, but she's making women everywhere look horrible." _

"_Thank you Mary." Mike said, going to line two. "Let's get the opinion of another caller. Hello? You're live on the air." _

"_Thank you Mike." The male voice said. "My name is Tim and I just want to ask if the police are going to arrest this Lacy woman. Obviously, if she is the Joker's wife then she might be able to provide them with information to stop him. And also, are the police going to investigate her? Because like you said, she was a willing participant in those activities so that means she has some kind of relationship with him. How do we know that she hasn't been helping him this whole time?" _

"_Good questions." Mike praised. "The truth is that we just don't know yet. But one thing is for sure. It seems like Lacy Williams is now Gotham's new public enemy."_


	47. Chapter 47

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Forty-Seven

The Joker paced around the room, finally stopping in front of his window. He stared out and saw that they sun was shining brightly. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky. It was this kind of day that reminded him of a similar day from the past.

_It was a couple of weeks after he had married Lacy. They were spending the day together since they both had the day off from work. He had let her choose their activities for the day. So after spending a long, enjoyable morning in bed they headed out to have a picnic in the local park. _

"_You know, it won't be too long until we can bring our son or daughter here to this park." Lacy smiled, rubbing her expanding belly. _

"_I can't wait." He smiled back, grabbing her hand and kissing it. _

"_Neither can I." She agreed, letting out a sigh.  
_

"_What was that sigh about?" He asked._

"_Nothing really." She shook her head. "I think I'm just being overly-emotional." _

"_What's wrong?" He pressured her to tell him. "I can't help if I don't know what the problem is."_

"_I didn't trap you, did I?" She finally answered. _

"_Trap me?" He questioned. _

"_Yeah." She nodded. "You don't feel like I trapped you into being with me by getting pregnant, do you?" _

"_No." He assured her, closing the gap between them and wrapping his arms around her. "I swear I don't feel trapped by you. Why would you think something like that?" _

"_I just…I don't want you to wake up one day and find that you can't stand being me." She answered. "I don't want you to resent me. We're going to have to give up a lot of things for this child and I don't want…"_

_He stopped her mid-sentence with a kiss. "I know we're going to have to make sacrifices, but it will be worth it because we'll have a beautiful child and we'll be together. We already wanted to spend the rest of our lives together and have children. So what if it happens a little sooner than we planned? Life doesn't always turn out the way you expect it to." _

"_I know, but we both wanted to go to college."She pointed out. _

"_College was a pipe dream, at least for me it was." He told her. "You were going to be the only one able to go to college. I'm not smart enough."_

"_That's not true." She argued. _

"_Yes, it is." He clarified. "I barely passed my classes."_

"_That's just because you didn't study or do homework. You didn't apply yourself at all." She reasoned. "But you are so smart…"_

"_Lacy, face it. I wasn't going to get in to any college with my grades, except maybe a clown college."_

"_Well I disagree with that." Lacy shook her head. Then she started to laugh. _

"_What's so funny?" He asked, not sure why she started laughing. The conversation wasn't exactly a funny one. _

"_I'm just picturing you in clown makeup, with the white face paint and the red lips." She couldn't contain her laughter. _

"_You think that's funny?" He chuckled. _

"_It's hilarious." She laughed. "And you know how clowns have names like Bozo the Clown and Krusty the Clown? Well yours could be Joker the Clown since you love to play practical jokes on people." _

"_Joker the Clown?" He mused, pretending to seriously think about it for a moment. "I'll keep that in mind." _

_She leaned in and gave him a kiss. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to laugh at you. It's just a funny mental image." _

"_Yes, I guess it is." He sighed._

At the time she laughed at the idea of him wearing clown makeup but he was certain she wasn't laughing now.

He had to concede that Jack had loved Lacy. Jack had been happy with his life with Lacy—until Alexis died. That threw everything in his life into a tailspin and he stopped to wonder what his life would be like if they hadn't gotten into that car accident.

His life probably wouldn't be this way. He'd probably be living in some suburb with two or three kids right now, taking care of them while Lacy worked. Jack would have loved every minute of the perfect suburban life. The Joker might not have emerged and might have laid dormant in Jack, waiting for the day when something bad happened to him so that he could appear.

He shook those thoughts out of his head. It was pointless to think about something that would never happen. He went back to thinking about Lacy.

It really was a shame that he was going to have to kill Lacy tonight. In his own way, he loved certain things about her and would miss her when she was gone. But he couldn't see any way around killing her. He certainly couldn't keep her alive, especially since she had chosen to associate herself with his enemy.

No, although a small part of him kind of wants to let her live, she has to die. After all, what kind of life does she really have anymore? He's ruined her career and all of Gotham hates her, as evidenced by the morning newspaper and local news broadcasts. She was being dubbed as Mrs. Joker and it seemed like no one was on her side.

There were several people that called into the local news stations and condemned her, saying that she should be apprehended by the police and thrown into a jail cell. One even suggested that she be put into Arkham for a psych evaluation. Everyone in Gotham seemed to be against her; all because he released that sex tape and told them that she was his wife.

He wasn't sorry for what he did. In fact, he found it funny that the town was so willing to put the blame for his crimes on someone that they thought could be a good scapegoat. It was almost a shame that the people in this town were so hung up on being able to blame someone that they latched on to Lacy.

But anyway, it had to be done and now he had left her life in shambles. He doubted that she would still have a job at Ace Consulting, or that anyone would be willing to hire her. Her landlord was probably getting ready to kick her out of her apartment, not wanting to be the one known for housing the Joker's wife. And he would wish Lacy luck if she ever tried to walk down the street in this city. People in Gotham are not the least bit shy about voicing their opinions about you. She's be likely to be mobbed by bunches of angry Gothamites who want to throw things at her.

There was no place left for her in Gotham if he let her live. Her only option would be to adopt a life of crime and take up with him, claiming her rightful place at his side. Maybe she could even be his sidekick.

She could dress up in cute outfits that show off her body and then tell him that all of his schemes were brilliant. She could be like his cheerleader, boasting his ego and inspiring him to do greatness.

He sighed, wishing that she was that type of girl. But there was no way that she would ever do that. Her moral compass was too strong and not even he could change that. He should know because he had been trying to change it for years with no luck.

That was why he was so intrigued with Crane's proposal about completely changing someone's personality. If it had actually been something that could have worked, then he would have been able to let Lacy live and his fantasies could have come true.

But alas, Crane was obviously kookier than he thought, especially since he got turned into the cops by his own test subjects. He still couldn't believe that he allowed himself to believe that Crane could actually change someone's personality. He should have seen through that and realized it was impossible. But he was blinded by his eagerness to keep Lacy with him.

At least it he didn't have to worry about Crane betraying him to the cops. He was still overjoyed that the hit on Crane worked and that he was dead. That was one less thing to worry about.

He sighed again. Lacy had to die. That was the only option left. A smile appeared on his face as he spoke to the empty room. "At least it will be a lot of fun killing her."

* * *

Lacy sighed as she paced the small room that she had been placed in. The Joker had shoved her into what appeared to be an old utility room. There were no windows and the only item in the room was a small cot. According to her watch she had been there for ten hours so she knew that it had to be morning. She spent most of the night had been spent pacing the floor, trying to think of a way out of this.

So far she had no ideas, at least nothing that would actually have a shot of working.

A part of her wished that Bruce would come for her and help her out of this mess, but she knew that it was a dumb thing to wish for. He was probably rooting for the Joker to kill her. She had really screwed up this time.

What was she thinking becoming friends with him? She knew what the Joker had done to his friends and should have known that things would end badly. But no, she let herself get caught up in the excitement of being around a guy who didn't treat her like dirt. She let herself get swept away with fantasies and scenarios that could never take place in the cold reality that was her life.

Worst of all, she hurt Bruce. Not only emotionally by making him feel like she betrayed and used him, but by letting the Joker find out his true identity. Now that the Joker knows Bruce Wayne is really Batman, she knows that the Joker is already thinking up plans to hurt him. She still remembered what the Joker told her awhile ago.

"_I will find out who Batman is one way or another."_

"_Then what are you going to do?" She asked with a chuckle. "You told me once that you didn't want to kill Batman because he was too much fun to mess with."_

"_Who said anything about killing him?" He laughed. "I just want to know who he is so I can kill everyone he cares about. I figure I'll start with any ladies he likes to entertain, and then move on to his family and friends. Batman is fun to mess with, but can you imagine how fun he would be if I started killing everyone he loves? His misery would be delicious!"_

She hated that she had allowed the Joker to get the upper hand over Bruce and was determined to try and fix that. Bit first she had to get out of this room. It was starting to drive her crazy being locked up in such a small area. Her only consolation was that at least this time she wasn't surrounded by blood.


	48. Chapter 48

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: I feel bad that I didn't update much over the last couple of days so here is the 2nd update for the day. Hope you all are still enjoying this story!

Chapter Forty-Eight

"Anything?" Gordon asked Locke as he entered the safe house.

"Nope." Locke replied. "I can't get him to talk. He just keeps saying that he doesn't know anything."

"We really need him to talk." Gordon sighed. "He is the best lead we have to finding the Joker and Lacy."

"Maybe both of us should go in there." Locke suggested.

"A little good cop bad cop?" Gordon laughed.

"Couldn't hurt." Locke replied with a chuckle. "Nothing else has worked."

"Alright." Gordon agreed. "Let's do it. Do you want to be the good cop or the bad cop?"

"I'll be the good cop." Locke answered. "I have a feeling that you have more pent up frustration about not seeing your family enough lately. Maybe being the bad cop will help keep you from bottling it up inside."

Locke was right. He did have a lot of pent up frustration over the lack of family time he was getting, as well as the increase in he frequency of the Joker's crimes. He appreciated that Locke noticed that. "Ok. Then I'll be the bad cop." He started walking towards Crane's room.

* * *

Lacy had just sat down on the cot in the room she was being kept in when she heard the door unlock. Her heart started to race as she wondered who was coming into the room. She found that it was someone she hadn't seen before. "Who are you?"

"My name is Dale." He replied, entering the room and walking towards her. "The Joker sent me to collect you. He wants to see you."

"Why?" She asked, curious.

"Don't know." He shrugged. "When the boss says something I tend to not ask why. It's partly why I've lasted this long."

"Well I'm so happy for you." She sarcastically told him, rolling her eyes.

"Come on." He grabbed her arm, making sure his grip was just firm enough so that she couldn't escape but not so firm that it would leave a mark on her skin. "You know, it's nice to actually meet you. After watching you for so long I almost feel like I know you."

She looked over at him with narrowed eyes. "So you're one of the pieces of scum he hired to watch me?"

"Hey." He said, stopping in the hallway and pushing her to the wall. "I may not be a saint but I'm not a piece of scum." He lowered his voice so that no one but her could hear him. "Believe it or not, I'm on your side here. I don't want to see anything happen to you."

"Then let me get out of here." She pleaded.

"That I can't do." He told her regretfully. "I'd been signing my own death warrant."

"Then I was right." She said. "You are a piece of scum."

"Well I'm definitely not gonna help you if you keep calling me scum." He mumbled softly as they walked to where the Joker was.

"Lacy!" The Joker smiled. "Good. I'm so glad to see you. Please come in." He motioned for her to join him at the table he was sitting at. It was set up for lunch, with all of her favorite food lined up.

He looked over at Dale. "Leave us now."

"No problem." Dale nodded before leaving them alone.

"I thought we could have some lunch together, just the two of us." He told her, noting that she hadn't made any moves towards the table. She just kept staring at him from where she stood. "You must be hungry by now. Don't you want some of this?" He pointed to the food.

"I'm not hungry." She said as she took a seat across from him.

"Sure you are!" He laughed, putting a piece of fried chicken on her plate. "Don't worry. It's not poisoned. I wouldn't kill you that way. It's too boring."

"Gee, that's comforting." She rolled her eyes, picking at the piece of chicken. "So how are you going to kill me?"

"I can't tell you that." He shook his head. "It would ruin the fun of the surprise."

"Of course it would." She sighed.

"You're mad." He commented, noting her chilly attitude towards him.

"Wow. You must be a mind reader." She sarcastically replied.

"You're still mad about the whole sex tape thing?" He feigned disbelief. "You should be glad I released that tape."

"Glad?" She raised her voice, looking at him for the first time since sitting down to the table. "Why the hell should I be glad about that? You've ruined my life."

"No, you're wrong." He argued. "I've helped you. I've released you from your bonds with society. You are free now and don't have to pretend anymore."

"I don't see it that way." She sighed.

"Of course you don't. You lack perspective." He sighed. "Do you want to hear what the public is saying about you today?"

"No." She shook her head. She could only imagine the terrible things the city thought about her now that they know who her husband is. She really didn't want any more confirmation. Hearing the comments from last night was more than enough for her.

"Ah, you're no fun." He complained, picking up a couple of newspapers. "There are some really good insults here. You're becoming quite the celebrity in this town."

"Great, because you know I always wanted fame." Sarcasm dripped from her voice again. "I'm sure there are some really juicy comments you are just dying to tell me about but I don't want to hear them so save it."

"Fine." He pouted. "I guess then we'll have to skip to the next form of entertainment that I brought for you. It was supposed to be saved for when you had dessert, but since you don't want to hear the comments everyone is saying about you then I'll have to go directly to the main event."

She watched him whistle and a door off to the right side of their table opened. Two men, one of them being Dale, carried a man into the room and sat him down on a chair, binding the man with rope. She took a closer look at the man who was their captive, whose head was hanging down. "Alfred?" She whispered, hoping she was wrong.

"Yes, that's Alfred." The Joker confirmed. "I'm impressed that you guessed correctly on the first try. But then again, you have spent enough time over at Bruce's penthouse to recognize Alfred. You probably even consider him a friend. That's what is going to make this so much fun."

"What have you done to him?" She yelled, moving to get up but finding herself being held back by the Joker's men.

"I", he motioned to himself, "haven't done anything to the poor butler yet. My guys, on the other hand, have been busy…entertaining him."

"He doesn't look entertained to me." She argued. She struggled against the guys as she tried to get up and go over to Alfred. "Tell your goons to let me go."

The Joker thought about it for a moment before he obliged, nodding to the guys to let her go. "Just don't think about untying him or anything."

She hurried over to Alfred's side and examined him. It looked like the guys had been beating him with just their fists. Two black eyes were starting to form and his lip was busted. "Alfred. Alfred wake up." She gently shook him, wanting to make sure that he was ok.

Within a few moments Alfred's eyes slowly opened. He wasn't happy to find himself tied to a chair and still in the Joker's custody. He looked over and saw Lacy kneeling next to him.

"Alfred, you have no idea how glad I am to see that you're awake." She gave him a small smile. "Are you ok?"

"As well as can be expected, I suppose, given who my host is right now." He answered.

"Don't worry." She told him quietly. "Everything's going to be ok." She gave him one more small smile and then got up and walked back over to the table. She stopped in front of the Joker. "I want you to let Alfred go."

"Well I want a lot of things that I don't get. You'll have to live with the same disappointment." He told her. "Because I'm not letting Alfred go. He's a vital part of my plan."

"I know you to destroy everyone who means anything to Bruce but Alfred is innocent." She said. "I demand that you let him go."

"And I'm telling you no." He smiled. "Now sit back down and finish eating."

"I'm not hungry anymore." She folded her arms across her chest.

"Suit yourself." He shrugged. "But at least sit down or else you'll miss the show."

"What show?" She asked, knowing that whatever he had planned wasn't going to be good.

"Sit down and watch." He commanded. Then he motioned to his men. "Keep her in her seat." He took a knife out of his pocket and smiled at her. "Now it's time for some fun."

"No." She cried out as she realized what he was going to do. "Stop! Don't do it!"

He laughed as he moved closer to Alfred. "Sorry love, I'm afraid I can't acquiesce to your request."

"Don't! I'm warning you. You better stop…"

"You're warning me?" He laughed. "Now that's funny. What exactly do you think you would be able to do to me?"

"I'll kill you." She answered.

He walked over and patted her on the head, patronizing her. "Yes, of course you will sweetheart. Now be a good girl and watch me have some fun with our guest."

She tried to get up but his guys wouldn't let her and kept pushing her back down every time.

* * *

Bruce feverishly went through the papers he had printed out. He was searching for any abandoned structures that the Joker could be using as a hideout. He had already narrowed the list down considerably, but the Joker's presence had driven a lot of business away from Gotham so there were hundreds of abandoned structures he could be using.

He wasn't going to give up though. He needed to find Alfred, and fast. He didn't even want to think about the horrible things that the Joker could be doing to his dear friend right now.

As for Lacy, he wasn't sure what to do about her. Honestly he didn't want to think about it. The most important thing right now was getting Alfred back safely. He would deal with Lacy after that.


	49. Chapter 49

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: A huge thanks to everyone reading and/or reviewing this story! It means a lot to know that you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it!

Chapter Forty-Nine

Lacy felt incredibly sick to her stomach after having to watch the Joker torture Alfred. It only lasted for a half hour but seemed like it took forever to end. Alfred was a trooper though, never making more than deep grunts as the Joker had his fun. She was amazed at his self-control and wished there was something she could have done to stop it from happening in the first place.

But there was no use dwelling on that anymore. The important thing was what she would do now.

"Well, this isn't any fun if you won't scream." The Joker sighed, finally bored with Alfred. He came back over to the table and picked up a napkin, wiping the blood from his knife. Once the white napkin had been soiled with the crimson blood, he put it down and came over to her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some things to get ready. We have a very special date tonight and I want to make everything perfect."

She realized that he was going to kill her tonight and that if she was going to do anything to stop him her time was running out. But her first concern was making sure that Alfred was ok. "Let me take care of Alfred."

He wasn't terribly surprised by her request, and thought about it for a moment. "Sure. Why not." He turned to his men. "Take her and Alfred back to her room and give her whatever medical supplies she asks for, within reason, but nothing more. I'll be back soon."

"Yes boss." Dale nodded, picking Lacy up from her chair. He looked over at Chip. "Chip, you get the old guy. I got her."

"Ok." Chip nodded, going over to Alfred.

"So what will you need to take care of him?" Dale asked as they walked back to her room.

"I'll need water, a clean cloth, gauze, bandages, anti-bacterial cream and probably a needle and thread to stitch him up." Lacy replied.

"Sorry, can't give you the needle." Dale refused. "You might try to use it as a weapon."

"But he's going to need stitches." She protested. "You saw what he did to him!"

"Look lady, I can't give you the needle." Dale replied. "I'm sorry, but that's just the way it has to be."

"Fine." She sighed. A part of her was just grateful that she was getting any kind of supplies to help Alfred.

She watched as the other guy, whom she now knew as Chip, brought Alfred into the room and practically dumped him on the small cot with no concern for Alfred's well-being.

"I'll be back with the stuff you need." Dale told her.

"Fine." She waited until they were gone before going over and kneeling beside the cot. "Alfred. Alfred, are you ok?"

"I really don't like that guy." Alfred mumbled.

She knew that he was talking about the Joker. "No one really does."

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you marry him?" Alfred asked, turning his head to look at her. He was getting the impression that Lacy didn't like the Joker either and wasn't helping him, but that just added to his confusion over this situation.

"Bruce didn't tell you anything about my past?" She asked.

"No, he only told me a few things." Alfred shook his head slowly so that it wouldn't hurt as much.

"I've known him my whole life. We grew up together and I was in love with him. I was so in love that I ignored the warning signs that there was something wrong with him. It wasn't until he started to turn into the Joker that I realized just how blind I had been. I should have seen the darkness in his soul but he was really good at hiding it." She explained.

"Love can make us do crazy things." Alfred commented.

"Yeah. That is the truth." She agreed. "They should be back soon with stuff so that I can try and clean up your wounds. I'm so sorry that this even happened to you. It's all my fault. I should have never…"

"It's ok." He interrupted her.

"No it's not." She shook her head. "Look at how many people have died because I failed to do anything to try and stop him. Look at Bruce, whose whole life has been turned upside down by the Joker. He now knows at about Bruce being you know who."

"I figured that was why he grabbed me." Alfred commented.

"And it's all my fault." She said.

"Have you helped him commit any crimes?" Alfred asked. "Have you physically helped him commit any of the crimes?"

"No. He just tells me about them afterwards." She answered.

"Then you're not responsible." He reasoned. "You should stop blaming yourself so much."

"That's sweet of you to say, especially given your current situation." She smiled. "But trust me; I'm not looking for sympathy from you or anyone else. I know what my role has been in this whole mess and I own up to it. Everything the Joker has done these past years has been the direct result of my inability to rein him in and stop him. I may not have physically helped him with these crimes, but I haven't stopped him and that's just as bad as helping."

He wasn't sure he was going to be able to change her mind so he let the subject go.

"Look, you don't have to worry. Bruce isn't going to let you die. He really cares about you and I'm sure he'll get here in time to save you." She reassured him.

"He'll be here to save you too." He tried to convince her.

She shook her head. "I sincerely doubt that. I don't think he'd do anything to save me, and I don't expect him to. You didn't see the way he looked at me last night. If looks could kill I would be dead right now. But I understand where his anger is coming from and it is fine."

She started to hear voices come down the hallway and rushed to the door to hear. It sounded like Chip and Dale.

"So, when are you going to give me the money you owe me from the bet?" Chip asked.

"Soon." Dale promised. "I just haven't had a chance to get it yet. Twenty-five thousand is a lot of money."

"Do you have that much?" Chip asked as they stopped in front of the door.

"Of course I do." Dale lied. "It's just going to take me a few days to get it. Don't worry about it. I'm not going to bail out. We had a legitimate bet and I'm not going to renege on it."

"Ok." Chip relented. "You better not."

"I won't. Don't worry." Dale reassured him. "Look, I have to deliver this stuff to her so get lost."

Chip laughed. "You don't want me to go in there with you while you give that to your girlfriend?"

"Not really." Dale replied. "And she's not my girlfriend."

"But you want her to be." Chip teased. "Just admit it; you've had a crush on her ever since we started watching her."

"I will not admit to that." Dale replied, getting angry. "Now go."

"Fine." Chip laughed. "I'll let you two have some alone time."

Lacy hurried back over to the cot and whispered to Alfred. "I have a plan. Just go with it, ok?"

"Ok." He answered.

Dale opened the door and came into the room, letting the door close. "Here are the things you asked for." He sat the box on the floor. "Is that everything?"

She reached down into the box and checked it. "Everything except for the needle that you refuse to give me." She smiled.

"I already told you…"

"I know." She nodded and walked over to him. "And I understand. You're just doing what your boss told you to do."

"I'm glad to see that you've come to grips with that." Dale smiled.

"You know," she continued to smile and tilted her head to the side, "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Chip out there. Not I wasn't eavesdropping or anything, but the door is pretty thin and you two have very deep, masculine voices."

He wasn't happy to find out that she was eavesdropping and found himself needing to defend Chip's accusation. "I don't have a crush on you."

"It's ok if you do though." She told him, letting her hand rest on his back. "I don't mind."

"The boss, your husband, sure would." He reminded her.

"Then I guess it has to be our little secret." She whispered before kissing him. She only kissed him for as long as necessary before pulling back. "You know, I also heard that you owe some money."

"So?" He asked, still a little dazed from the kiss.

"So I could help you with that if you help me get out of here." She offered. "I have more than enough money to cover your debt."

"Sorry lady, you're good looking and a hell of a good kisser, but I can't go against the Joker—not even for you." He refused.

She didn't expect him to go for that, but figured it was worth a try anyway. "Fine. Suit yourself."

"Now, if you don't need any more medical supplies, I think I'll be going." Dale told her.

She went back to the box and started pulling things out; arranging them on the floor next to the cot Alfred was on. After she was certain that Dale was gone and not in the hallway anymore, she breathed a sigh of relief. "That went well." She smiled, proud of herself.

"He didn't take the bait though." Alfred pointed out. "He didn't agree to help you."

"He didn't have to." She informed Alfred, pulling something from behind her back. "I have his cell phone."

"Ah." Alfred smiled and chuckled, wincing at the pain from those actions. But it was worth it. "Who are you calling?"

"Bruce." She answered, continuing to dial.

Bruce was busy leafing through papers when he heard his cell phone ring. It was the ringer set for unknown numbers and he almost didn't pick up but decided to, hoping it wasn't a wrong number. The last thing he needed to deal with today was a telemarketer wasting his time. "Bruce Wayne."

"Bruce!" She exclaimed, happy that she got a hold of him. "It's Lacy. Please don't hang up."

"What do you want?" He asked in an angry tone.

She knew that this wasn't going to be easy and he was probably going to be hesitant about accepting any kind of help from her. "Look, I know you're mad at me and you have every reason to be, but I never wanted things to end up this way. I want to help you. I know where Alfred is."

"Where is he?" Bruce asked, eager to get Alfred back to safety. "Is he ok?"

"He's with me right now, and he's going to fine. The Joker has been…well he's gonna be ok. I think he looks worse than he really is." She explained.

"Let me talk to him." Bruce demanded.

"Sure." She put the phone up to Alfred's head so that he could talk.

"Alfred?" Bruce called out. "Are you ok? What have they done to you?"

"It's nothing sir." Alfred assured him. "Like Miss Williams said, I'll be fine."

"I'm so sorry I let this happen to you." Bruce apologized.

"You have nothing to be sorry about either." Alfred chuckled softly, wincing at the pain it caused.

"Do you know where you are?" Bruce asked.

"Not a clue." Alfred replied. "But I know a certain lady who does. You might want to talk to her about that."

"Is this some kind of trick?" He hated having to ask that but wanted to make sure that he wasn't going to be walking into an ambush.

"No, not at all. She's really trying to help."

"Ok." Bruce sighed. He really didn't want to talk to Lacy again, but if it would help him find Alfred he was willing to do it. "Listen, I'm coming for you. Everything will be fine."

"I know." Alfred told him. He then motioned for Lacy to get back on the phone.

"Bruce, we're at abandoned warehouse on the docks. It's on the west side of town off of Lancaster Avenue." She explained.

"Ok." Bruce typed that into his computer and saw that there were a couple of abandoned warehouses on that street. "Do you know what the number of the building is?"

"No, I'm sorry. I don't." She shook her head, even though she knew he wouldn't be able to see it. "That's all the information I have."

"Well it's a start." Bruce sighed. At least now he had a much smaller area to search.

"Ok. Well I have to go before they find out that I stole this cell phone." Lacy said.

"Ok." Bruce replied, waiting a moment before speaking again. "Lacy?"

"Yes Bruce?" She answered.

"Thanks." He knew that Lacy didn't have to try and help Alfred. He hadn't forgiven her but it did mean a lot to him that she was trying to help.

She ended the call after he hung up and closed the phone, making sure it was set to silent so that if someone called it wouldn't make noises which would alert their captors. "Well Bruce should be here soon to get you. Let's work on getting you cleaned up."


	50. Chapter 50

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks for the wonderful feedback on this story! It's very appreciated!

Chapter Fifty

"There." Lacy said, applying the last bandage. "That should take care of everything until Bruce can get you to the hospital. You'll probably need some stitches but the bleeding seems to have stopped for now so that's a good sign."

She had propped him up so that he was sitting up against the wall on the cot and had cleaned and dressed every wound that the Joker had inflicted upon him. It had taken quite a while, but it was worth it. She didn't want any of the wounds to get infected.

"Thank you." Alfred smiled at her.

"It's no problem." She told him. "I didn't want to see anyone else get hurt because of the Joker, especially not you. You've been really nice to me and you don't deserve this."

"You need to let go of all the guilt you're holding." He advised. "Or it will eat you up inside."

"I think it already has." She replied, focusing on putting the leftover bandages back into the box and avoiding his stare.

"Can I ask you a question?" Alfred asked after a few moments of silence.

"Sure. I'll answer whatever questions you want." She replied. Having finished putting everything away, she found that she had nothing else to do so she started to pace around the small room.

"It's something I've been curious about." He explained. "How did he get those scars?"

"Ah, the scars." She chuckled. "He, for some sick reason, loves to tell different stories about how he got them."

"Yes, I've heard several versions." Alfred commented. "So which one is the truth?"

"None of them." She replied. She stopped pacing and turned to face him. "Every story he's told people is a lie. He just likes to tell imaginative stories about the origin of his infamous scars because the truth isn't that creative."

She shook her head and laughed again. "One day I came home from work and found him in the bathroom…"

"_What the hell are you doing?" She screamed, reaching over and trying to take the razor from his hands. But he was too fast for her and ended up pinning her against the wall, holding the razor to her throat. _

"_Do not disturb me right now." He warned in a threatening voice. He held her there against the wall for a few more moments before letting her go. _

_She stayed up against the wall after he let her go. He had gone back to what he was doing, which was placing the razor in his mouth and moving it back and forth. It looked like he was practicing. "What are you doing?" She asked again, this time softer. _

_He stopped and looked over at her. "If you must know, I am trying to figure out the best way to create some scars. I figure if I'm going to be the Joker I should add some theatricality to the mix. I already have some wardrobe ideas and I'm going to dye my hair green, but I think some grotesque scars would be wonderful. They would really make me stand out and create fear in the people I meet. Don't you agree?" _

"_No." She shook her head. "I actually don't. This is a bad idea. Please stop. Don't do it." _

"_Can't stop." He told her. "Now you better go away unless you want to see this because I have a feeling it's going to bleed a lot." _

"Despite his warning, I stayed there and watched him do it." She explained. "I think I stayed partially because I didn't think he'd actually do it and partially because I knew he would. He just stood there, rubbing the razor back and forth in his mouth, until…well you get the point."

She saved Alfred from having to hear all of the gory details. "Needless to say, he was right about there being a lot of blood but he never showed any signs of pain. In fact, he was laughing the whole time. It was one of the creepiest moments of my life."

Alfred didn't have words to express what he was thinking about that. "I can't believe he did it to himself, yet at the same time it seems very much like something he would do."

"So there you have it." She sighed. "That's the true story of the scars."

She had told him that she would answer any questions he had and decided to ask another one. "Why didn't you ever turn him in?"

She listened to Alfred's tone of voice when he asked that question. To her surprise, he didn't sound like he was accusing her of anything. It wasn't an angry tone or even a resentful tone. It was more like curiosity with a little bit of pity mixed in.

"I've asked myself that question a million times." She answered, continuing to pace. "At first it was because I thought I could change him back to what he had been before. I thought that if I loved him enough and stood by him that he would somehow magically turn back into the Jack that I had fallen in love with."

She laughed at her former beliefs. "But then as time went on I slowly realized that Jack wasn't coming back. He was consumed and devoured by the Joker, and there was nothing that I could do about it."

"I wanted to stop him." She closed her eyes for a moment. "God, I dreamed of hundreds of ways to stop him, whether it was turning him into the police, turning him into Batman, or killing him. I thought of it all and I wanted to do it so badly. But something always stopped me."

"What stopped you?" He asked when she stayed quiet for a few minutes.

"I loved him." She replied. "Now I didn't love the Joker. I hated him and still do. But I loved Jack and it was hard for me think of him as being gone forever. I know it sounds pathetic and selfish but a part of me wasn't ready to let the Joker go because then Jack would definitely be gone forever."

She stopped pacing and wiped the tears that had formed in her eyes. "Of course now I realize I was damn fool. Jack has been gone for quite a long time and my selfishness has nothing but cause countless deaths. I don't blame the whole city for hating me and I don't blame Bruce for hating me either because I know that it's my fault. I might as well have killed those people because I sure as hell didn't stop it when I had the chance."

"If it helps at all I don't blame you." Alfred told her. "And I definitely don't hate you."

"You're probably the only one." She gave him a small smile and went over to sit on the ground by the cot. "But it doesn't matter anymore. He's going to kill me tonight."

"Bruce won't let that happen."Alfred assured her.

"It's ok Alfred." She told him. "You don't have to try and reassure me that everything will be alright. I know the truth. I know that Bruce won't come to save me. But he'll come and save you, and at least I can say that I helped one person."

He wanted to argue with her to convince her that Bruce really would come to save her, but even he doubted whether or not Bruce would do anything to help her. The last time they had spoken face to face he seemed rather adamant about his anger towards her. But he wouldn't let her die at the hands of the Joker, would he?

Gordon and Locke came out of Crane's room several hours later, still no closer to knowing anything that could help them find the Joker. "This is so frustrating." Locke complained. "Why won't he tell us anything?"

"I don't know." Gordon shrugged. "Maybe he's still worried about the Joker retaliating against him if he cooperates?"

"Or maybe he's just a mean guy who doesn't want to help us." Locke suggested.

Gordon chuckled. "That could be too."

"Well whatever the reason, we still have to get something from him." Locke pointed out.

"Yeah." Gordon agreed. "Are you going to be ok staying here a little while longer? I have some things I need to take care of."

"Yeah." Locke nodded. "Go ahead. I can stay here."

"Ok. I'll be back soon." Gordon said before leaving.

Lacy and Alfred had been talking all afternoon and she was beginning to wonder when the Joker was going to come for her. She knew what her fate was and almost felt like she just wanted to get it over with. Almost as if on cue, there were footsteps and the door opened.

"The boss wants to see you." Dale told her.

She turned to face Alfred. "Take care of yourself."

"You too." He told her, wondering if that was going to be the last time he saw her alive.

She just nodded and followed Dale out of the room. "Are you sure you won't take me up on my offer?"

"I'm sure." He chuckled. "But I have to say it was tempting."

She didn't say anything to him for the rest of the walk. She was being escorted back to the same room she had been in earlier in the day for lunch. The Joker stood there waiting for her in what looked like a brand new purple suit.

"Hello my dear." He greeted with a smile. He then turned to Dale. "Leave us."

Dale did say a word as he left the room.

The Joker walked up to her, circling her like a hawk would his prey. "I have some special plans for us tonight. But first, I think you need to change your outfit." He pointed to a room off to the side. "In there is a bathroom. You have twenty minutes to shower and change. There is a dress in there for you. Put it on. If you are not ready in exactly twenty minutes, then I'll bring Alfred out here and blow his brains out."

He purposely chose a punishment that he knew she would do everything in her power to avoid. Looking at the clock he said, "Your time begins…now."

Gordon returned to the safe house a short time after leaving. "Locke?" He didn't see Locke and started to get worried when the man didn't answer his call. "Locke?" He called again, but still no answer. He hurried into Crane's room and saw Locke tied up and unconscious on the bed. Next to him was a note:

_Thanks for helping to fake my death. You have no idea how much I appreciate it._

_Crane_

_P.S. I suppose I should do something nice to repay you for your troubles. The Joker has been using an abandoned warehouse as his personal home office. I won't ruin the surprise by giving you the exact location, but I will tell you it's on the west side of town near the docks. Happy hunting!_

Gordon crumpled up the note. "Damn it!" He untied Locke and tried to revive him. A few moments later, Locke came to.

"What- where's Crane?" Locke asked, jumping to his feet.

"He's gone." Gordon sighed. "What happened?"

"I came in here to check on him and see if I could get him to talk." Locke explained. "As soon as I came in the door he hit me over the head with something. I blacked out and I don't remember what happened next."

"How did he get free from his restraints?" Gordon wondered out-loud.

"I don't know." Locke replied. "I'm still surprised that he was able to get out of bed so soon after being shot."

"Well this is going to complicate things." Gordon stated the obvious.

"Commissioner, I am so sorry. I don't know how this happened…"

"It's ok." Gordon assured the younger man. He didn't blame Locke for letting Crane get away but wasn't sure how to proceed. Normally he would put out an APB on Crane, but he had just faked Crane's death. If he was to come out and say that it was all a lie then the Joker would resume his attempts to kill Crane and the police department would look bad in the eyes of the public.

"What are we going to do now?" Locke asked.

He thought about it and came to a realization. "The only thing we can do right now was try to stop the Joker. Crane wrote us a note giving us a hint as to where the Joker is. Assuming that the information is legitimate, we will use Crane's information to try and track down the Joker. Then we will worry about Crane."


	51. Chapter 51

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: I have some really...interesting plans for the next few chapters. I hope you all enjoy the ride!

Chapter Fifty-One

"Ten...nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…"

"Ok, ok!" Lacy shouted, coming out of the bathroom. She knew that she cut it close on time. He had given her twenty minutes to get ready and she had used nineteen minutes and fifty-eight seconds.

While getting dressed and putting on the long, form-fitting purple silk dress that he set out for her, she wondered how she was going to get out of this situation—or if there even was a way for her to get out without dying. She still wasn't afraid to die, although she didn't particularly want to. Her concern was that she was going to die before she got a chance to permanently stop the Joker.

He had something planned tonight and the end result was going to be her death. As much as she hated to admit it, there might not be a way for her to stop him.

"You look…stunning, my dear." He smiled, circling her. His head nodded in appreciation. "You sure do clean up nicely. Do you like the dress? I picked it out especially for you."

"I don't care about the dress." She answered honestly.

"Aw, come on." He lightly elbowed her. "Cheer up! Tonight is about a celebration. I don't want you to be all gloomy and cranky. Tonight we're going to have some fun."

"What are we celebrating?" She asked, curious about his plans.

"We're going to be celebrating the end of an era. Tonight is the night that I finally grant your wish. You know, the one that you've been pestering me about for years now?"

"Which one?" She asked with a chuckle. "There have been a few."

"The one about me finally leaving you alone. Your wish is finally coming true!" He exclaimed. "Aren't you excited?"

"Thrilled." She told him in a flat voice. She knew what he meant. He was going to leave her alone because he was going to kill her.

"We're going to relive our wedding night. I figure it's only fair to end our marriage the same way we started it, don't you think?"

"Our marriage has been over for quite a long time." She reminded him.

"So you say." He laughed. "But anyway, I have a nice dinner set up for us. Follow me." He didn't give her a choice, grabbing her hand and practically dragging her into an adjoining room.

This room had a table set up with candles and a wide assortment of Chinese food. She recognized the food as the same dinner they had on their wedding night. Looking around the room, she also noticed a bed and wondered to what extent he wanted to relive their wedding night.

_Lacy giggled as she put the boxes of Chinese food on their coffee table. Since they didn't have a lot of money the coffee table also served as their dining room table, but they didn't mind. They had gotten married at the courthouse today and she was still flying on cloud nine, still not fully believing that Jack was now her husband. _

"_Do we have everything we need?" Jack asked from the kitchen. "Do I need to bring anything in there?" _

"_Just your cute butt!" She replied, opening the last of the boxes. _

"_Well that I can manage." He told her, sitting next to her on the floor and kissing the top of her head. _

"_You know, I can't believe we're actually married." She said as she poured some soy sauce over her rice. _

"_You're not doubting your decision, are you?" He asked in a half-serious tone. _

"_Oh God no!" She assured him, giving him a quick kiss. "It just feels so surreal."_

"_Well good." He smiled. "Because now that we're married, you're stuck with me until the day one of us dies." _

"_That's perfectly fine with me." She smiled back. "I have no intention of ever voluntarily leaving your side." _

After they ate dinner that night, they went back to their bedroom and stayed up all night, consummating their marriage several times before the morning light. Lacy hoped that wasn't part of the Joker's plan for tonight.

"What do you think?" He asked. "I know it's not exactly like our wedding night, but I feel like it is close enough."

"Can we just get this show on the road?" She was starting to get impatient. If he was going to kill her then she just wanted him to go ahead and do it. Though she knew it wasn't going to be that easy. He would make it hurt.

"Ah, so impatient." He whispered in her ear as he stood behind her and snaked his arm around her waist. He felt her whole body stiffen as he pressed himself up against her and smiled. "You shouldn't be in such a hurry. We're going to take our time tonight and enjoy every single moment."

She pulled away from him and faced him, knowing what he wanted. But there was no way she would give it to him. "Sorry, but I'm not in the mood tonight. I have a headache."

He laughed. "Who said I was planning on asking you?" He grabbed a hold of her again and pushed her down onto the bed.

Bruce looked at pictures of two warehouses. He had the Joker's hideout narrowed down to two places, thanks to Lacy's information. Now that it was dark it was slightly safer for him to go out as Batman without the police apprehending him.

He was already dressed as Batman and didn't want to waste anymore time. He was determined to get to Alfred before the Joker killed him. He wasn't going to watch another loved one die, especially not at the hands of the Joker.

Taking a deep breath, he got into the new tumbler that Lucius designed for him. His plan was simple. He would visit both warehouses until he found Alfred.

Lacy sat at the table, staring at the Joker and occasionally drinking a glass of wine. He was sitting across from her and was eating his food like the past hour hadn't happened—like he hadn't just forced himself on her. Tears would have fallen from her eyes but she refused to shed any more tears over him. He wasn't worth it.

She folded her arms across her chest and just stared at him, throwing looks of pure hatred at him, but he seemed to not notice or care. He just sat there, hungrily eating his food.

He looked up, noticing that she wasn't eating. "What's wrong?" He asked, pretending to sound sympathetic. "You don't like Chinese food anymore?"

When she didn't answer him he realized that she was trying to give him the silent treatment. "Ah, I see. You're mad. Well what else is new?" He chuckled. "It seems like you're always mad at me for something."

"Gee, I wonder why that is." She broke her silence to spew out that bit of sarcasm.

"I don't know!" He feigned ignorance. "Why is that?"

"Because you're an evil douche bag who deserves to die a horribly painful death?" She answered, taking a sip of the wine that was in front of her.

"Perhaps." He replied slowly, watching with delight as she continued to drink the wine. "But you married me."

"I married Jack." She clarified. "Not you."

He put his elbows on the table and leaned in closer to her. "Yeah, but I'm the one that gives you orgasms. That's something dear old Jack was never too good at doing. I could tell when you were faking. You weren't that convincing of an actress."

"You're disgusting." She shook her head.

"But you love it." He baited her.

"No, I don't." She adamantly denied. "I hate you and I wish that you were dead."

"Oh come on, it hurts me when you say things like that." He pretended to be hurt by her words and got up from his seat. Then he walked over to her seat and pulled her up so that she was pressed against him. "Now, say you're sorry."

"No." She refused. "I won't apologize for telling the truth."

"Ok then." He smiled, checking his watch. "So what do you want your last words to be?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, taken aback slightly by that question.

"Well I spiked your glass of wine with a paralyzing drug." He checked his watch again. "By my calculations, you only have about two more minutes before it takes effect. When that happens you won't be able to move or talk. Your heart will still be beating and you'll still be breathing but the really cool part is that you will be able to feel everything that happens to you. You just won't be able to scream or react! Isn't modern medicine just great?"

"You're lying. I don't believe you. You're just trying to scare me." She accused him, hoping he truly was lying but deep down knowing he wasn't.

"Really?" He looked at her and laughed. "Those are your final words? Kind of lame if you ask me, but hey it's your choice."

"You want final words?" She yelled. "How about this? I hate you and no matter what you do to me or anyone else, you will get yours in the end because karma is a bitch."

"Oh I know that one day I'm going to die. I'm just not worried about it." He told her, watching as she started to fall over. The drug was beginning to take effect and he smiled as he caught her. He then placed her on the bed. "Now the real fun can begin."

Gordon walked out from his office into the main area of the police station, where all available officers were waiting for him. "Ok men, we have a tip that the Joker is in a warehouse somewhere on the west side of town close to the docks. What we're going to do is split up into teams and divide the area into sections. Each team will be responsible for checking every warehouse."

"It is imperative that we find and stop the Joker for good this time. I want the Joker back in our custody, but at this point I don't care if he's dead or alive." Gordon explained. "Use brute force if you have to because I'm sure if we encounter him he won't go down without a fight. And be careful because we don't have any idea if he knows we're coming for him."

"What if we run into Lacy Williams? What do you want us to do with her?" One of the officers in the back asked.

"Apprehend her but try not to hurt her." Gordon replied. "We still aren't completely sure what her role in the Joker's crimes is and I just want to bring her in for questioning for now. Any other questions?"

When no one else shouted out any questions, he sighed. "Good luck and let's hope we find him. Let's go!"

The Joker hummed softly as he got his knife out of his pocket. Lacy's body had finally succumbed to the full effects of the paralyzing drug and he was ready to have his fun. "Let's start by making you a little more comfortable."

He studied his canvas before making a few quick cuts. With a smile he pulled off the midsection part of her dress. "You won't be needing that right now."

She looked at him, willing herself to move but being unable to. He was right when he described the effects of the drug. All she could really do right now was breathe. She couldn't move, blink, cry, or scream. She wondered what he was going to do now that he had exposed a large part of her skin from below her bust line to her belly button. Whatever it was, she wished he wouldn't do it because she had a feeling it was going to be painful.

Bruce searched through the first warehouse, sorely disappointed. There was no sign of the Joker. The only things left in the abandoned warehouse were spiders and old shipping crates. While he hated feeling like he was wasting precious time by picking this warehouse to search first, he grew more confident that the next warehouse was going to be the one where he would find Alfred.


	52. Chapter 52

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Glad to know that people are enjoying this story! I have some twists and turns coming up so I hope they don't disappoint!

Chapter Fifty-Two

"So, let's see." The Joker said, examining Lacy's exposed stomach. "I have to make sure that I plan everything out perfectly or I'll run out of room and that would really suck." He looked up at her. "What's wrong? Are you scared?"

She wanted to scream and tell him to go hell, and then run away from him but she was trapped. There was no way for her to move. The drugs he had given her completely took away all mobility she had. All she could do was watch and listen.

When she didn't respond he smiled. "You know, I love it that you can't talk right now. It means that I can finally say everything that's been on my mind lately and you can't interrupt me."

He placed his hands on her stomach, roughly measuring and trying to figure out the best way to do what he was planning. "I've had a lot of fun lately killing your boss and then also Chris. Planning Chris' death was the most fun I've had in years, although I think tonight will top that."

He smiled as he thought about what he was planning for her. "The only problem with Chris' death was that it was so tiring. I had all this planning to do and of course none of my men seem to be smart enough to follow directions. I had to spell everything out for them step by step, and even then some didn't know what the hell they were supposed to be doing!"

He shook his head and stopped what he was doing for a moment. "You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find henchmen that are actually intelligent! I mean, except for a few, most of my guys are idiots. And I know what you're thinking. But it's not because I'm not selective enough when hiring them. It's just that the smart criminals end up becoming bosses themselves. There are few intelligent criminals that don't try and be bosses."

He looked over at her and patted her shoulder. "Sorry. I'm rambling and getting off topic. Where was I?" He thought for a moment. "Oh yeah. Chris's death. It took a lot of planning and effort to make sure that you would enter that elevator at the correct time. I didn't want you to get there too soon or else he might not be completely dead yet, and I didn't want you to get there too late or else all of his blood would've already spilled to the floor. Part of the genius of the plot was timing it just right so that you would end up getting blood all over you from above."

He went over to a nearby file cabinet and pulled out a couple of tools that would be necessary for what he planned to do to her. "Of course, early on in the planning I realized that I would need a lot more blood in that elevator than just Chris' if I was going to truly traumatize you. So, being the gentleman that I am, I sacrificed a few of my own men for the cause. But it sure was worth it. Wasn't it?"

He laughed as he looked at her, almost expecting her to answer but knowing that there was no way that she would. "Your boss' murder, well that was done more on the spur of the moment. It wasn't my best work, but I think it got the point across. You should have seen the looks in their eyes right before I killed them. It was priceless. Strangely enough, no matter how many people I kill, I never get tired of seeing it."

He pulled out his knife, examining it to make sure that it was sharp and clean enough. "Chris was the best of the two. You know that he actually believed that you were going to save him by getting him out of the country? It was so great being able to show him just how wrong he was."

He was finally ready to begin his work and grinned. "Ok. I guess it's time to get this show on the road. I bet you're beginning to wonder what I'm going to do." He looked her in the eyes and noted the panic as she stared at the knife. "Well I could tell you, but it would ruin the surprise so I'm going to do it and then show you."

With precision skill, he started cutting into her skin, digging deeply and causing blood to flow from the wounds. Slowly and methodically he made the incisions, constantly having to wipe away the excess blood with a cloth so that he could see what he was doing.

"You're being a very good patient." He praised with a chuckle. "You haven't said one word throughout this whole thing, even though I'm sure it must hurt like hell."

She wanted to cry out, scream in pain, then jump up and stick the knife into him a few thousand times, but she was stuck. She couldn't even grit her teeth, but she could feel every slice he made into her skin. Every cut seemed to hurt worse than the one before and for a few moments she wished for death to escape the pain. But she wasn't gong to be that weak.

She refused to give in to the pain, because if she did, she would be giving up. And she wasn't a quitter. She could endure this.

He hummed softly as he finished his carving. "There!" He exclaimed happily. "That part is done. Now let's do something about the bleeding because I don't want you to bleed to death. You deserve much better than that."

He picked up the small blowtorch that was sitting nearby and turned it on. "You know I am always amazed by the ways that people used to do things before there were advances in technology. Take, for instance, the wounds that I just inflicted upon you."

He held the blowtorch close to her face, close enough for her to feel heat but not be burned by it. "Now we have procedures to stitch them up and repair any damage to the skin. But in the old days, people didn't always have access to a needle and thread. A lot of people ended up dying because they would bleed to death."

He shook his head and bowed his head. "It's really sad when you think about it. But then someone clever realized that if you heat the wound, it clots the blood and prevents people from bleeding to death! I believe it is called cauterization. Cool name, huh?"

He chuckled. "I would love to know just how someone found that out. I wonder if it's too much to hope for that it's a gruesome story…Anyway, I was thinking about it, and I would love to know if it actually works. So I'm going to try it out on you!"

She couldn't believe that he was going to do that to her. She knew a little about cauterization, having seen a documentary about it on the history channel once. It had been primarily done on soldiers in war zones who had lost limbs on the battlefield. They would put direct heat on the wound, but the heat usually damaged the tissue surrounding the wound, sometimes completely killing the tissue.

She also heard that it was extremely painful and usually only done after giving the patient something to counteract the pain. But she had a feeling he wasn't going to be generous and spare her the pain. He seemed determined to make her death as painful as possible.

He had been busy getting the metal cauter that he would use to clot her wounds out, examining it and making sure it was ready. Then he stuck it in the path of the flame from the blowtorch, making sure that it got nice and hot.

"I don't know if this will hurt or not so I'm going to rely on you to let me know if you need something for the pain. Ok?" He asked, knowing that there was no way she would be able to tell him how much it hurt. He was well aware that it was going to cause her a lot of pain and relished the fact that she couldn't scream.

"Ok. Here we go!" He joyfully squealed as he placed the hot cauter on her skin. He left it there for about fifteen seconds before pulling it away again. "Well that is cool!"

As he heated it up again so that he could continue cauterizing the rest of her wounds, he explained why it was so cool looking. "It completely clotted it! And it did it so quickly. I wonder why we bother stitching people up with a needle and thread. This is just so much more fun!"

She certainly didn't think it was fun. Although the cuts he made into her stomach hurt like hell, the cauterization seemed to hurt ten times worse than that. She felt so helpless and wanted nothing more than to give into the pain and sink into the abyss that was calling her name. But she couldn't. She couldn't give him that satisfaction. She had to fight for as long as she could, even though it hurt more than anything she had ever experienced.

"Well that wasn't so bad." He commented when he was done cauterizing her wounds. "You didn't make a peep. You're such a good patient!" He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the lips and stayed close to her face for a moment. "How are you feeling right now, my dear?"

He looked into her eyes and saw the pain and suffering mixed in with hatred. "Wow. If looks could kill I have a feeling I would be dead right now." He laughed. "Too bad for you that you can't even hurt a fly right now."

He sighed, pleased with his work. "Well do you want to see the finished product?" He grabbed a digital camera from nearby and took a picture of her stomach. Then he cued up the camera so that the picture was displayed and placed it in front of her eyes. "See? I think it's beautiful, might even be the best work I've ever done."

She would have started to cry again if her tear ducts hadn't been paralyzed. Now that the wounds had been cauterized and weren't bleeding anymore, the cuts he had made were clearly visible. He had carved the words 'Mrs. Joker 4-ever' onto her stomach. It was enough to make her sick to her stomach and she wished she could close her eyes to escape having to look at the picture.

After a few minutes he removed the picture from her view. "We have to get going now." He pulled out his cell phone. "Get in here. It's time to go." He barked into the phone.

A few seconds later he saw Chip and Dale come into the room. "One of you, pick her up. The other one, grab that bag on the floor. Both of you follow me."

Dale chose to pick up Lacy and carry her to their next destination, which wasn't too far away. He looked down and saw what the Joker had carved into her, feeling bad for her. While he was aware that the Joker was going to kill her tonight, he wasn't aware that there was going to be such gruesome tactics used.

He wondered how the Joker could do this to Lacy. Apparently they had been married, which meant that at some point he loved Lacy. Right? So how could he do something like this to her? He had always known the Joker was crazy but somehow held to the belief that if the Joker ever was in love with a woman, he wouldn't do this kind of stuff to her. Maybe it was naïve of him to think that, but he couldn't help it.

The Joker, Chip, Dale and Lacy all left the warehouse out the front door, unaware of the intruder sneaking in through the back door and just missing them by a few seconds.


	53. Chapter 53

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: There is some medical "stuff" in this chapter and I apologize if I got any of it wrong. I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on tv so everything I wrote I found information on the internet and pieced it together. Sorry if it's not plausible in real life! Enjoy! (And sorry for the cliffhanger! I try hard not to end chapters with them but it's an old habit and old habits die hard.)

Chapter Fifty-Three

Batman slipped in the back door of the warehouse, quietly taking out the two inept guards on post. He was now certain that this was the warehouse that the Joker was staying in. Now that he had the right place, the next step was to find Alfred.

He moved quickly, going from room to room, silently taking out the Joker's men. His plan was to go through each room until he found Alfred. Then he would call for an ambulance and search the rest of the place for the Joker.

After going through at least a dozen rooms, he opened a door and saw Alfred lying on a cot. He closed the door quietly and rushed over to the man's bedside. He couldn't believe how many cuts and bruises he had on his face, and all the bandages he had all over his body. "Alfred! Are you ok?"

"Yes, Master Bruce." Alfred managed to smile a little. "I'll be fine."

"What did he do to you?" Bruce demanded to know, getting more and more obsessed with making the Joker pay for his crimes as the moments went by.

"Nothing that can't be healed." Alfred assured. He could see that Bruce was starting to get almost over-taken with anger and guilt. "It really looks much worse than it really is. I assure you."

"Well don't take this the wrong way but you look horrible." Bruce told him. He knew that Alfred was trying to make him feel better and take away some of the guilt that was eating him up about letting his friend get abducted by the Joker in the first place. He appreciated Alfred for it, but no amount of reassurance was going to take away the guilt.

"I'd like to see how wonderful you would look if you were in this situation." Alfred joked, laughing and wincing at the pain that movement caused.

"Just stay there." He commanded. "I'm going to call for an ambulance and then go check the rest of the warehouse to see if the Joker or any more of his goons are here. But I need you to stay right here."

"Don't." Alfred commanded, causing Bruce to look confused. "The Joker isn't here. I overheard his men talking when they brought me some water. He's taking Lacy to a nearby place on the docks to kill her. You have to go save her."

Bruce laughed. "You expect me to save her?"

"Yes." Alfred replied seriously. "And you're going to do it whether you like it or not."

"I'm not a little boy anymore, Alfred." Bruce pointed out. "You can't tell me what to do."

"You're right. You're not a little boy anymore. I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you what not to do. And you're not going to let your pride and anger prevent you from doing the very thing that you set out to do when you first donned the Batman persona."

He could see that he had gotten Bruce's attention and continued. "When you started this whole thing you wanted to punish the bad guys and bring them to justice when the police couldn't, while also saving innocent people. While both of us know Lacy isn't 100 innocent, she's not the bad guy either. And trust me, if you don't go and try to save Lacy now, you will regret it—maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life."

"You've watched too much Casablanca." Bruce commented.

"Perhaps." Alfred agreed. It was one of his favorite movies. "But listen, I don't believe she's a bad person. We had a chance to talk earlier and I truly believe that she is a victim in this whole thing."

He could see that Bruce was hesitant to believe it. "I know it sounds hard to believe but I don't think she is to blame for the Joker's crimes. Certainly she should have done something sooner, but she had her reasons for not coming forward. I don't think her cowardice is enough to condemn her to death."

"Why are you suddenly her personal cheerleader?" He asked out of curiosity. "She's practically been the Joker's accomplice all these years!"

"Because I saw a different side to her while we were locked up in here. If she was working with the Joker, then she wouldn't have risked her life getting a hold of the cell phone that she used to contact you. She wouldn't have tried to help you find this warehouse and she wouldn't have taken such good care of me after what the Joker did. Surely even you can admit that."

"You have a point there." Bruce conceded. It was a good start that she helped him find Alfred and took care of him. He was grateful to her for that.

"Do you trust me?" Alfred asked him.

"You know I do. You're probably the only person that I trust 100 of the time." Bruce answered.

"Then trust what I'm saying." Alfred pleaded. "Lacy is in trouble. He's going to kill her any minute now. You have to go save her. Put aside the anger you have over Rachel and everything else that the Joker has done and save Lacy. If you don't and then she dies, you know that you will feel guilty because that's the type of man you are. Don't do that to yourself. Stop the Joker. Save Lacy."

Bruce thought about it for a moment and sighed. Alfred had a point As much as he was conflicted, he had to try and save Lacy. "I'm going to call for the ambulance and then go see if I can find the Joker and Lacy."

"Actually sir, I was thinking that you shouldn't call for the ambulance."Alfred spoke up. "Do you really think that's such a good idea?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Bruce asked. "You need to go to the hospital. You need medical attention."

"I do need some medical attention, but if you call for an ambulance then they will take me to a hospital and call the police. Do you really want the police asking questions about why the Joker chose to abduct me? It would raise unnecessary questions that we might want to avoid." Alfred explained.

"Ok." Bruce sighed. He had a point. "You stay here then. I'll go try to see what I can do about Lacy. Then I'll come back for you and we'll go to the penthouse. I'll just have a doctor come and take care of you there. Does that sound better?"

"Absolutely." Alfred agreed. "Now go."

Bruce still wasn't sure about helping Lacy, but realized that he was letting his anger towards her guide his actions and that wasn't a good idea. He still hadn't even heard her side of the story. And if her side of the story was good enough to turn Alfred into one of her supporters, then maybe he would be able to forgive her. But first he needed to make sure the Joker didn't kill her.

Lacy didn't know why she was being placed in a car but knew that nothing good could come from it. Dale had positioned her so that she was sitting in the driver's seat.

The Joker reached into the bag that Chip had brought with them and pulled out a few syringes. He then held them up to Lacy so that she could see them. "Do you know what these are? These are syringes that could either give you a peaceful death or a torturous one."

He could see that she was confused so he continued to explain. "You see, in just a few minutes we are going to put the car in neutral and push it into the water with you in it. I'm guessing it won't take too long for the car to fill up with water. At that time you will drown and it will be especially terrifying for you considering you can't move and try to escape."

He sighed, loving it when a plan comes together so brilliantly. He held up the four syringes. "Now some of these syringes contain drugs that, when combined, cause really dangerous drug interactions. The others are just full of simple saline solution."

He started to mix the syringes up, rearranging them in his hand as he continued. "The saline solution obviously won't do anything to you. But the other two syringes are filled with Diltiazem and beta blockers. Now separately those substances won't hurt you much. Mixed together, they will slow your heart rate down and you will die a painless, peaceful death when your heart just stops."

He smiled at her. "So you see, I have the power to end your life compassionately or ruthlessly." He stopped rearranging the syringes. "I've thought about this for quite a while, what the best way to kill you would be and how to do it. All in all, I think my plan so far has been ingenious and I'm very proud of myself."

He had to laugh. "I've covered every base, thought of every problem, and managed to inflict plenty of pain on you. So I'm now left the decision of whether to grant you a peaceful demise or make you suffer to your last breath. I'm torn. I really am. I'm not sure what to do. I could make a case for either option."

"On one hand, it would be extremely kind of me to let you die a more natural death and just stopping your heart before you get the chance to drown. But on the other hand, I love the idea of your lungs filling up with water and you knowing that there's nothing you can do about it." He looked her in the eyes.

"Do you see my dilemma?" He stayed silent for a moment before continuing. "I guess the only truly fair way to decide is to let fate takes its course." He walked over to Dale and held out the syringes. "Here. Choose two."

Dale hesitated, knowing that if he chose the two that were saline, Lacy would be dying a very slow death. He had no idea which ones weren't saline and which ones were. This was too much pressure for him, pressure that he didn't want. "I don't want to choose." He told his boss.

The Joker looked at his with disgust. "Fine." He moved to Chip. "You choose."

"Ok." Chip replied, looking over at Dale for a moment. He wasn't sure why Dale had such a hard time choosing two syringes. He assumed it was because of his crush on the girl but he didn't really care. He pulled two syringes from the Joker's hands.

"Good." The Joker smiled, walking back over to Lacy. "So your death depends on which syringes Chip just picked." He removed the cap of the first syringe and stuck it into Lacy's left arm, emptying the contents. "Let's hope he chose wisely."

"Now unfortunately I won't ever know what the outcome of Chip's decision was. I'll never know how you really died because if he chose the two that weren't saline, it will take at least five minutes for the effects to show up and for you to die.

"By then I will be long gone." He told her as he stuck the contents of the second syringe into her arm. "But I kind of like it that way. That way, if I ever think of you, I can imagine my own scenario for your death."

He smiled at that thought. "I can think of you sitting perfectly still in that car as the water starts to surround you, your eyes screaming for help that never comes. It's going to be a beautiful memory."

He grabbed a hold of her hand. "Well, sweetheart, we've been through a lot together, but we both know that our time together had to end eventually. I wish I could say that I'm sorry for everything that I have done to you but we both know that would be a lie. I will miss you at times though."

He leaned in closer to her, speaking softly so that Chip and Dale couldn't hear him. "You know I bet there are things you wish you could say to me, but unfortunately, you'll have to take them with you to your watery grave."

He put the car in neutral. "There's just one more thing I want to tell you. It's a quote from one of my favorite songs. I think it works with this situation and here's how it goes…'I love you…I'll kill you…but I'll love you forever.'" He kissed her on the lips and shut the door.

"Let's go." He told Chip and Dale. He watched as they pushed the car into the water. It hovered above the surface for a few seconds before starting to sink. He knew it would only be a matter of time before it sank completely. "Come on!" He bellowed to his men. "Let's go have some more fun with the butler."

"I don't think so." Bruce called out, appearing a few feet away from the Joker.


	54. Chapter 54

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: This chapter's a little shorter than normal. Sorry about that. Enjoy!

Chapter Fifty-Four

The water level in the car was at her ankles right now. She could feel the cold water up against her exposed skin and wished that she was anywhere else other than here right now. Never in a million years did she expect to die this way. She knew that she would die and was fairly certain it would be at the hands of the Joker, but never imagined that he would be this cruel to her.

But he had been planning this for a long time and he was proud of it.

And now, she was going to die.

Bruce had found the Joker and his two goons with great ease, watching as they pushed a car into the water. Looking closely, he saw someone in the front seat and realized that it must be Lacy. He would have to work quickly to save her but first he needed to take care of the Joker.

"Well well well." The Joker said, trying to stall for time. The longer he talked with Bruce, the less chance he would have to save Lacy. "Look who it is. It's Gotham's favorite billionaire playboy turned vigilante."

"Your time is up now Joker." Bruce warned.

"I don't think so." The Joker smiled. "You're outnumbered and time is of the essence, especially if you wish to save Lacy." He glanced at the water. "Poor thing. She won't be able to last for very much longer."

"Who said I came here to save her?" Bruce asked, calling his bluff.

"Well I just naturally assumed that." The Joker chuckled.

Bruce just nodded his head. "And the way I see it, I'm not outnumbered."

The Joker turned around to see that Chip and Dale had both run off, leaving him alone. "Damn it. Good help is so hard to find. I guess I'll have to take care of this myself…"

Bruce used the distraction as a chance to catch the Joker off guard. He moved quickly to kick the Joker in the gut, causing the other man to double over in pain. A few more well-placed punches made the Joker fall to the ground. "Like I said before, your time is up. Now you're going to pay for everything you've done."

Lacy couldn't believe what was happening to her right now. The car was sinking farther and farther down into the water and so far the water level in the car was at her knees. It wouldn't take too much longer for the water level to rise.

But that wasn't her only concern right now. It felt like her heart rate was dropping because she was getting extremely tired. But she wasn't sure if her sleepiness was because of all the blood she lost earlier or if the Joker really had injected her with the two drugs that caused dangerous interactions. It could also be from the lack of good oxygen.

Either way, she was finding it harder and harder to keep going. She had to face the facts that she would be dead soon. No one was coming to save her. Although she had told Alfred that she knew Bruce wasn't going to come and try to save her, she still secretly wished that he would.

She wished that someone would care enough about her to not want to see her dead, but maybe that was too much to ask for after everything she had done—or not done. Maybe this was the way she was supposed to die, alone and scared.

If things had been different and she had met Bruce without the baggage of the Joker, she probably would have fallen in love with him. He was such a good guy and was the first person in such a long time to make her feel like she was actually important and worth something. In many ways, he was the main catalyst for her getting the courage to fight back against the Joker. Too bad she didn't do that sooner.

But things weren't different and there was no way for her to change the past or the future.

She had to realize that there would be no last minute reprieve from this for her. And maybe that was how it should be. Maybe at least this way she would be able to join her daughter in heaven, assuming she didn't get sent to hell.

Still, as much as she would love to be reunited with Alexis, she felt bad that she hadn't accomplished her goal to kill the Joker. She also never got a chance to apologize to Bruce for everything, although she realized he probably wouldn't have forgiven her anyway.

At least he should be able to find Alfred in time.

The water level was now up to her stomach. She took a deep breath and prepared to die.

* * *

The Joker had managed to get in a couple of good punches at Bruce, but soon found himself being held up against a light pole, with Bruce's hands around his neck.

"You know, I think we should be friends." The Joker managed to say in a choked voice. "We have a lot in common and not just Lacy. I think if you really got to know me you would like me. After all, I think we're kindred spirits."

Bruce just laughed. "I think you should shut up."

"You know, every minute that you stay here and fight me is another minute that Lacy travels closer and closer to death. Now I know you said you didn't come here to save her, but we both know you did." The Joker laughed. "If you don't hurry, your little buttercup will die and I'd hate to see that happen to you again. You know, first with Rachel and then Lacy…"

"Shut up!" Bruce yelled, punching the Joker in the face. "Don't you ever talk about Rachel!"

"Must have struck a nerve." The Joker chuckled softly.

Bruce realized that the Joker was right. He didn't have time to kill the Joker if he intended to try and save Lacy. He tightened the grip he had on the Joker's neck and then bashed his head into the pole a few times until the Joker lost consciousness. Looking around, he found some rope and quickly tied his enemy to the pole, making sure that there would be no way for him to escape.

He would deal with the Joker later, but now he had to get Lacy. He pulled out a rebreather from his utility belt so that he could breathe underwater and with no hesitation he jumped into the cold water, swimming down to the car. He had some trouble finding the car since it was so dark, but finally managed to locate it.

He pressed his face up against the window and saw a motionless Lacy sitting in the driver's seat. The whole car was full of water and he realized that every second mattered now since he had no idea how long she had been without oxygen.

The door was jammed and wouldn't open no matter how hard he pulled. He had to punch the window glass several times before it started to crack. Once it started to crack he was able to pull her out of car through the window.

With one arm securely placed around her waist he started to swim to the top. With the weight of his suit and Lacy, it became harder for him to swim back up to the top but he finally managed to break the surface. He carefully lifted her up and placed her on the docks before climbing up himself.

He checked for a pulse and to see if she was breathing. "Damn it." He whispered when he realized she wasn't breathing and didn't have a pulse. He immediately started CPR. "Come on." He encouraged her in between breathes. "You can't give up. Don't let him win."

After doing CPR for a few minutes he stopped to check for a pulse and any indication she was breathing. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, unsure about what to do next.


	55. Chapter 55

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Fifty-Five

Bruce was sitting in a chair at his penthouse, watching the news with Alfred right beside him. Alfreds' cuts and wounds were starting to heal nicely, primarily because of Lacy. The fact that she cleaned the wounds so quickly after they were administered cut down on the risk of infection. He was certain now that his friend was going to be alright and that made him feel better.

He turned his attention back to the television. Alfred had turned it to GCN and news anchor Mike Engle was on.

"_It's been two days since the police captured the Joker and found the body of Lacy Williams in the river nearby. The Joker has been placed in a special jail cell specifically built for him and has minimal interaction with people. The police are confident that this new cell will be able to hold the Joker and prevent him from escaping. So far the Joker has yet to escape but, according to GCN's latest news poll, 69 of Gotham residents say they fear the Joker will escape and cause havoc upon the city once again." _

"_The police are refusing to say where they have buried Ms. Williams due to the overwhelming amount of hate mail and threats they have received by Gotham residents. Apparently the police station has been overrun with calls and emails. The common thread between the threats is that all have to do with protesting the site of Ms. Williams' resting place in some way."_

"_They have released some of the threats. Here is one that says, "I know she is already dead but she deserves to die a second death for everything she's done. I want to know where she is buried so I can set fire to her like the witch she is." I would read more of the threats but they are all pretty much like that." _

"_The police have also released their own statement about the incident. "While we understand the public's outcry over Ms. Williams' alleged involvement with the Joker, he essentially have no concrete proof any of the Joker's allegations were true. The only proof we have is the word of a mentally unbalanced, psychopathic criminal and a tape which has been analyzed by the lab and proven to be fabricated. Since we can we can not question Ms. Williams about her involvement with the Joker, as far as we are concerned, she was simply an innocent pawn in the Joker's chess game.""_

"_Now I for one am not completely convinced that Ms. Williams was an innocent pawn. I saw the tape in question and it didn't look like a fake to me, but then again I'm no expert at those types of things. The statement goes on to say this about the Joker…"_

"_The Joker is now in police custody and we are utilizing every resource available to retain him. Citizens of Gotham City should no longer be afraid that the Joker will come after you or your loved ones. The time for fear and panic is over. Now is the time for healing."_

"_Let's hope that is the truth." Mike sighed. "In other news…"_

Alfred turned off the television and sighed. "I can't believe the public is still so angry with her."

"Well not everyone believes in her the way you do." Bruce reasoned. "They still see her as the Joker's accomplice."

"And what about you sir?" Alfred asked. "Do you still see her as the Joker's accomplice? After all, you did get Commissioner Gordon to fake the report and say that the tape was a fraud."

Bruce sighed. After everything that had happened he was still trying to process it. "I don't know. I don't want to be angry with her, but I still can't fully forgive her."

"Because of Rachel?" Alfred asked.

Bruce was quiet for a moment. "Yes, but not just because of Rachel. It's because of everyone that the Joker has killed. And I guess I'm also disappointed in her. She had chances to tell me about her connection to the Joker but she didn't."

"I don't think she ever wanted to hurt you." Alfred chimed in.

"No, probably not." Bruce conceded. "But it doesn't change the fact that she did."

They sat there in silence for a moment before Alfred spoke again. "Are you sure it was a good idea to let the police take the credit for catching the Joker? All I've heard for months is that everything will be ok again after you capture the Joker and now you just let that go."

"I'm sure." Bruce nodded. "I mean, look at the poll they just cited. Over half the city is still terrified by the Joker even though he's behind bars. If I had taken the credit for capturing the Joker, then the public might have decided to give me another shot and a clean slate, but that clean slate would have become dirty again as soon as the Joker escapes."

"You think he will escape?" Alfred asked.

"Yes." Bruce nodded. "A very wise person told me that the Joker will never let himself be kept in any kind of cage for long. He will escape and when he does, I will be ready for him. I'll stop him once and for all and then I'll take the credit. I wasn't ready before, but I am now. To be honest, I was ready two days ago, but I just didn't have the time to do it."

"Because of Lacy." Alfred commented.

"Yeah." Bruce nodded, getting up from the chair. "Look, I have some work I need to do. But you," He pointed to Alfred, "are still considered on vacation so I don't want you to do anything except sit here and watch television. Understood?"

"Yes sir." Alfred laughed. While he appreciated having a week off, he found it slightly ridiculous that he was forbidden to do anything. He was being treated as if he were made of porcelain or something.

Bruce merely smiled and continued walking down the hallway. He stopped right in front of the door that he wanted to enter. His hand was on the door knob, poised to twist it and enter, but for some reason he was having trouble moving. He hadn't visited this room much, but felt like he should. With a deep breathe he twisted the knob and walked inside.

The nurse got up from her chair when she saw the visitor. "Oh, Mr. Wayne, good afternoon."

"Good afternoon Claire." Bruce smiled at the young woman who was assigned to watch over the occupant of the room. "Can you give me a moment?"

"Of course Mr. Wayne." Claire bowed slightly before leaving the room.

Bruce chuckled. She was an interesting woman who insisted on calling him Mr. Wayne and bowing every time one of them left the room. It was like she thought he was royalty or something. He figured it was probably just because he was paying for her to go to any medical school in the world that she chose in exchange for watching the occupant of the room.

He sighed and took a look at the occupant, pulling a nearby chair over to the bedside. He looked at the machines hooked up, wondering what all the beeps and numbers meant. He had very little medical knowledge when it came to that kind of thing. All he knew was that Lacy was still hanging on and that's all that really mattered to him.

After pulling Lacy out of the water he performed CPR and got her to start breathing again, along with getting her heart rate back up. But he knew that he had to get her medical attention quickly so he sent her back to the penthouse with Alfred in the tumbler and arranged for a doctor and a nurse to meet them. He made sure that they brought all the equipment they would need to take care of her and set it up in this room.

When he first found Alfred, he thought that his friend looked horrible, but realized that Alfred's wounds were insignificant compared to what the Joker did to Lacy. He remembered seeing her exposed stomach and becoming enraged by it. No one should ever do anything like that to someone, especially not a woman.

He could only imagine the horrors Lacy had been put through before being placed in the car. As much as he was angry with Lacy, he still didn't think she deserved what she got from the Joker. His belief was only reinforced when the doctor ran tests on her blood and found out about the paralyzing agent. Apparently he had given her enough of the drug to paralyze her for days.

The doctor has been trying to counter-act that drug with others, but so far it hadn't worked. That was the least of her problems right now though. Her wounds on her stomach had become infected and she still hadn't regained consciousness from her near-drowning.

The doctor said it wasn't anything to be too concerned about considering all the trauma her body had been through, but Bruce couldn't help but be worried. He couldn't shake the feeling of regret that he had for not diving into the water sooner. If he hadn't been so concerned with pummeling the Joker, maybe he would have gotten to her sooner and she wouldn't be in this state.

But now wasn't the time for regret. He had other things to do right now. He still remembered the deal he made with Gordon after sending Alfred and Lacy to the penthouse.

_He saw Gordon and another cop approach him, looking at him and then the pole that held a still-unconscious Joker. "You aren't going to arrest me, are you?" He asked, looking past the Commissioner and staring at the younger cop. _

"_No." Gordon answered, looking back at Locke and shaking his head. "Why would we arrest a hero? You've just delivered the police with their number one most wanted criminal." _

"_And here I thought that spot was reserved for me." Bruce joked. _

_Gordon chuckled, noting that Locke looked confused. "Don't worry. He's on our side." _

"_Then why…" Locke started before being cut off. _

"_Long story." Gordon interrupted. "Short version is that we aren't going to arrest Batman. I'll tell you the rest later." He looked back at Batman. "He can be trusted." _

"_If you say so." Bruce shrugged, trusting Gordon's opinion. "Look, I need a favor from you." _

"_I was just about to say the same thing." Gordon laughed. "What do you need?" _

"_I need you to fake someone's death for me." Bruce said. _

"_That hasn't exactly been my forte recently." Gordon told him. "But alright. Whose death am I faking?" _

"_Lacy Williams." Bruce said. _

_Gordon was quiet for a moment and sighed. "Why would I fake her death?" _

"_Because she's fighting for her life right now and she might not make it anyway. He," he pointed to the Joker, "tortured her and then tried to drown her. I have her somewhere safe where she's being attended to. I trust you understand why she couldn't be taken to a hospital."  
_

"_There are a lot of people in this town who would love to have a chance to kill her. We're already getting death threats against her." Gordon replied. "Do you think she's been helping the Joker, though? Because I can't let someone like that go. You have to understand that." _

"_I do." Bruce replied, knowing that he needed to convince Gordon. "But I don't think she's helped him. I think she's been a pawn in his games." _

"_And she'll leave town when she's recovered?" Gordon asked. "Never to come back?" _

"_I'll make sure of it personally." Bruce assured. _

"_Ok." Gordon agreed. "Now I'm afraid I need a favor from you." _

"_What?" Bruce asked. _

"_I need you to find Jonathon Crane." Gordon replied. _

"_Isn't he supposed to be dead?" Bruce was confused. The news reports said that he had died from complications with the gunshot wound he received. _

"_We," Locke pointed to himself and Gordon, "kind of faked his death so that we could get information from him without worrying about the Joker trying to kill him. But then he escaped." _

"_We need to find him. Aside from the fact that he's an unstable criminal, if news gets out that we faked his death and he's free right now we will be on the receiving end of some hate mail. We might even lose our jobs." Gordon explained. _

"_You know I don't want to see that happen." Bruce assured Gordon. "You're the best commissioner this city has had in years. I'll track him down. It won't be a problem." _

"_Thank you." Gordon replied. "So I guess you'll be getting the glory for capturing the Joker. Maybe this will smooth out some of the contempt people have for you." _

"_I don't care about that." Bruce told him. "Don't tell people I did it. Take the credit for yourselves." _

"_Are you sure about that?" Gordon had to admit that he was surprised by Batman's generosity. Capturing the Joker could be enough to redeem him in the eyes of Gothamites but he was giving up that opportunity. _

"_I'm sure." Bruce nodded. _

"_Ok." Gordon nodded, looking back at Locke. "Go get the squad car and call this in." When he turned around, Batman was gone. "I really hate it when he does that." _

He stood up to leave because he had a deal to uphold. Gordon had held up his part of the plan and faked Lacy's death so now he had to find Crane. He took one more look at Lacy and leaned down to gently kiss the top of her head. "You're going to be ok Lacy. I promise." He whispered before leaving the room.


	56. Chapter 56

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: The questions was asked about how many more chapters were left in this story and it got me thinking. I could end the story in one or two more chapters and then create a sequel (which wouldn't be nearly as long at this story) or I could just continue onward. The problem with the sequel is that it would probably only be around 20-25 chapters at the very most. So I'm leaving it up to my loyal readers. Should I just forge ahead or make it into a sequel? Thanks in advance!

Chapter Fifty-Six

Lacy woke up with a jolt, sitting straight up in the bed and breathing heavily. She turned her head from side to side; unsure of what was going on. The last thing she remembered was being in the car, unable to breathe because of all the water surrounding her. She assumed that she had died, but this looked nothing like the heaven or hell she imagined in her head.

The room seemed familiar and it took her a few moments to realize that it was the guest room in Bruce's penthouse. But what was she doing there? She glanced around and saw the numerous machines she was hooked up to, noting that her blood pressure was starting to spike—probably from the fact that she had no idea what was going on.

It was a big relief to her that she could actually move around and slowly moved every part of her body, starting with her feet. It was so nice to be able to move again and was definitely something she would never take for granted again. Not being able to move was absolutely terrifying and not an experience she ever wanted to repeat.

She took a deep breath and pulled back the sheets on the bed. Someone had dressed her in a pair of sweatpants and a loose fitting shirt. She didn't really want to look at her stomach, but felt like she needed to. She closed her eyes for a moment before pushing up her shirt and glancing down at her stomach.

What she saw still made her want to throw up and she swallowed the bile down. It looked even worse than it did when the Joker first showed it to her and she noticed that it looked infected. She screamed out in anguish before breaking down into tears.

"So you think she'll be able to make a full recovery?" Bruce asked the doctor. Both the doctor and Claire were standing outside Lacy's room discussing her condition.

"I think she has a very good chance for a full recovery," the doctor replied, "assuming she wakes up soon. The longer she stays unconscious though, the less likely she is to recover."

"Thanks doctor. I appreciate all of your hard work and especially your silence." Bruce said.

"The way I see it, it's not my place to ask why she's here." The doctor explained.

"Well…" Bruce was about to say something else when they all heard a scream coming from Lacy's room. The doctor rushed into the room first, followed by Claire. Bruce just staying in the doorway, unsure of what to do. He decided to stay where he was and let the medical staff take care of her.

"Lacy, it's good to see you are awake." The doctor smiled at her as he checked her stats.

"Who are you?" She asked, looking at the two strangers in her room.

"I'm Dr. Troy and this is Claire. We've been taking care of you for the past few days." Dr. Troy explained. "You've been unconscious for about two days now. Do you remember what happened to you?"

She shook her head slowly. "Unfortunately I remember everything."

Dr. Troy looked over at Claire and then back at Lacy. "Would you mind if we examine you now that you are awake?"

"Go ahead." She replied. There were a million thoughts running through her head and she wiped the tears from her eyes. She glanced over at the door and saw Bruce standing there with his hands in his pants pockets. Their eyes met for a moment before he left the room.

"Lacy's awake." Bruce told Alfred as he walked into the living room.

"I assumed that was the case, judging from the scream I heard." Alfred noted. "How is she?"

"I don't know." He shook his head. "I didn't go talk to her. The doctor is in there with her right now, examining her."

"I'll have to go see her once they are done." Alfred resolved. "Unless you want to be the first to see her…"

"No." He shook his head. "You can go first."

"Ok." Alfred nodded. "But you are going to see her eventually, right?"

"Maybe." Bruce told his friend. "Why?"

"I just think that there are a lot of unresolved issues between you two and you need to talk about it sooner or later." Alfred replied.

"Trust me; I know that we have unresolved issues." Bruce laughed. "But she just woke up. The last thing she's going to want is to do is see me."

"If you say so." Alfred chuckled. He knew better than that, but didn't think he would be able to convince Bruce.

Lacy rested her head against the pillow, staring at the ceiling. She had no idea what to think about this situation. She had been ready to die, and although she hadn't wanted to, she had come to terms with it. But now, here she was—alive and recuperating at Bruce's penthouse. So what was she supposed to do now?

And why wasn't she at the hospital? If her situation had been as bad at Dr. Troy described, then why was she being taken care of here?

She wondered why he bothered to save her. She knew she wasn't on his list of favorite people anymore. Did he do it out of a sense of obligation? Or did Alfred make him do it?

Alfred. She hoped that he was alright. She wasn't sure she could handle it if she was alive but he ended up getting killed by the Joker.

She wondered what happened to him. Did Bruce kill him? Did he get away? Was he being held in police custody? She hoped he was dead, but realized that Bruce likely didn't kill him.

Was Bruce going to come and see her? She had seen him standing in her doorway after she woke up but he didn't say anything and left abruptly. She figured he probably wasn't going to come back. He most likely didn't want anything to do with her and she couldn't blame him for that.

She had so many questions swirling around her head and wished for someone to talk to so that she could get some answers. Dr. Troy and Claire had been no help, not wanting to talk about anything other than her medical condition.

There was a soft knock on her door and she turned her head to see who it was. "Come in." She answered, giving a small smile when she saw it was Alfred. "Hi."

"Hello Miss Williams." Alfred smiled back, entering the room and standing over her bed. "It's good to see you awake and moving again."

"It's good to be able to move again." She told him. Then she pointed to the chair. "Want to sit down and keep me company for a moment?"

"I would love to." He told her, walking over to the other side of the bed and sitting down.

"How are you doing?" She asked, taking in his appearance. "You look like you're doing better."

"Oh yes." He assured her. "I'm much better, thanks to your care and help."

"I didn't do that much." She shook her head.

"You did plenty." He told her. "You saved my life."

She chuckled. "That's something I haven't heard before. But I didn't save your life. Bruce did because he found you in time."

"Thanks to your quick thinking stealing that cell phone. You led him to that warehouse." Alfred pointed out.

"I can see why Bruce loves you so much." She smiled. "You're so sweet. Do you do this to him too?"

"Do what?" He asked, feigning innocence.

"Figure out what his fears are and then try to convince him that they aren't true." She explained. "I know you're trying to help me by persuading me that I had a bigger told in your rescue than I really did because you know how guilty I feel. It's sweet but unnecessary."

"I didn't know I was doing that." He lied. "But if it makes you feel uncomfortable I will stop."

"Thank you." She told him. There was a moment of silence before she spoke again. "So can I ask you a few questions?"

"Of course." He answered. "I figured you would have a lot of unanswered questions."

"Why am I not in a hospital right now?" She asked. "Dr. Troy made it seem like I was on the verge of death so shouldn't I be in a hospital? I'm not saying I don't appreciate the set up here but wouldn't it have been easier to take me to a hospital?"

"Yes and no." Alfred replied. "There has been a lot of backlash towards you in this city."

"I know that." She interrupted. "I know that people aren't happy with me and probably wish me dead."

Alfred nodded. "There are some extreme people who feel that way. But Bruce has taken care of that. To the rest of the world, you are considered to be dead."

"Hold up." She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "So he's faked my death?"

"Technically the police did it." Alfred corrected her. "But yes. The whole city believes you to be dead, which is why you are not in a hospital."

"Wow." She was taken aback by that revelation. But there was still something else that she needed to know. She needed to know what was going on with him. "Alfred, what about…," she didn't even want to say his name, "him."

He knew who she was talking about even though she didn't say his name. "He is in police custody right now. They have constructed a special cell for him that they hope will keep him locked up safely."

"It won't." She shook her head. "He'll find a way out."

"Even if he does, he won't be coming after you." Alfred assured her, putting his hand on hers. "He's been made aware of your unfortunate 'death'. So he won't be bothering you anymore."

"I wish I could be so sure about that." She replied solemnly, glancing at her stomach. "But even if he's not coming after me he will still be with me."

"Do you wish to talk about what happened?" He asked. He would be more than willing to listen to her is she chose to.

"Not really." She shook her head vehemently.

"It might help you heal if you talk about it." He suggested.

"I just want to forget that it ever happened, although I know that I will never be able to fully forget because of what he's carved into me." She sighed, tears forming in her eyes. She tried to blink them back but they ended up rolling down her cheeks anyway. "Have you seen it?"

"I have." Alfred nodded. "I saw it after Bruce pulled you out of the water. It's a terrible thing."

"He was so proud of it." She whispered. "He loved every minute of doing it and he loved that I couldn't do anything about it. He just stood over me, cutting into my flesh and enjoying the fact that I couldn't scream or move or do anything to stop him. I was helpless, and he loved that."

"I can't imagine what that must have been like for you." Alfred sympathized.

"Just be glad you don't know what it's like." She told him, her eyes fixed on her stomach. "I don't think I could ever be able to explain just what it's like. It was hell, although in a way I'm sure I deserved it."

"You didn't deserve this," Alfred chastised her, "and I don't want to hear you say that again. This…what happened to you…it's not your fault. He is the one to blame for this."

"But I didn't stop him…"

"I know, but you can't keep dwelling on that." Alfred explained. "You have essentially been given a new start. You get a do-over in the game of life and I don't want to see you waste it by moping around and blaming yourself for things that have happened."

Lacy laughed, prompting Alfred to give her a strange look.

"What's so humorous?" He asked.

"Nothing." She assured him. "It's just nice to know that there's one person in this world who doesn't wish to see me dead and actually seems to care about what happens to me."

Bruce stepped away from the door, feeling guilty for eavesdropping. He hadn't meant to; he had just been walking down the hallway, but when he saw her door was partially open and heard voices he couldn't help himself.

He decided to leave though, feeling like he didn't have a right to listen in on her private conversations.


	57. Chapter 57

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Ok, so we're almost done with this story. Only a couple chapters left. I've decided to go ahead and make a sequel to this. I hope I can make it as good of quality as this story and that it doesn't get predictable and boring. But we'll see! Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing. It means a lot to me!

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Almost a week had passed since Lacy woke up and she was starting to recover nicely. Her infected stomach was starting to respond to the antibiotics and she was able to get up and move around, though she stayed in the guest room. There was no way she was going to go walk around the rest of the penthouse and risk seeing Bruce.

The only time she had seen him was when he was standing in the doorway after she first woke up. Alfred came in quite a lot to see her and keep her company, but Bruce had stayed away. She couldn't blame him for not coming and talking to her but at the same time felt like there were still things that had been left unsaid between them.

She was standing by the balcony door looking out at the view and thinking. While she was grateful to Bruce for saving her life, she couldn't help but think that maybe she would have been better off dying in that car. Alfred kept telling her that she was lucky because she had a second chance at life now. But what was she really supposed to do?

She obviously couldn't stay in Gotham City anymore since people here hated her and thought she was dead. So she would have to move, but that wasn't such a bad thing. She wouldn't mind being able to live somewhere else. She would have to change her name and her appearance so that other people hopefully never found out who she was.

And none of that was too terribly heartbreaking for her. She could deal with those kinds of changes. That wasn't what was upsetting her.

It was the comment Alfred had made to her yesterday about being free of the Joker. It sounded so absurd to her that she had to stop herself from laughing at poor Alfred. While she knew that he was just trying to get her to see the positives in her life, the reality of the situation was that she would never be free of the Joker.

He was in her head, constantly torturing her. It didn't matter if he was sitting right next to her or locked up in a cell; either way he was always right there with her. She saw his reflection every time she glanced in the mirror and every nightmare she had was about him. She could still feel the greasiness of his makeup on her skin, still heard his voice, and was still haunted by the look of pure enjoyment he had on his face while torturing her.

No. She would never be free of the Joker. He had set up a permanent residence in her head and wasn't going to let anything or anyone evict him.

And as if the psychological reminders weren't enough, she also had a fairly large physical reminder on her stomach. It was healing, but the scars would be permanent. She had practically begged Dr. Troy to do something about it but he explained to her that there was nothing he could do to fix it. Over time it may fade a little, but it would never go away completely.

So now she was stuck with it. He had branded her as his and now she would forever be known as such.

She had been spending quite a lot of time thinking about what kind of life she really could have and had come to a conclusion. She shouldn't have lived through the drowning. Bruce never should have rescued her because this 'second chance at life' thing was bullshit.

She would never be able to live a normal life. Assuming she was able to move on from the Joker and he didn't break out of his cell, which was highly unlikely, what would happen if she ever found herself in love with another man? No man in his right mind would want to touch her after seeing her stomach and there would be no way to hide her past forever.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she should have died that night but for some reason Bruce came and saved her life. Maybe that was a sign from above that her work here wasn't finished.

A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts before she could think about that any more. She gripped her robe tightly, pulling it close and said, "Come in."

Alfred came into the room. "Good morning."

He was way to chipper for her taste. "Good morning Alfred."

"How are you feeling today?" He asked.

"Pretty much the same." She admitted. "I think I'm going a little stir crazy in here though."

"Well then there's only one cure for that." He smiled. "How would you like to join Master Bruce for breakfast on the porch?"

"No." She shook her head. "No thanks Alfred. I'll just eat in here."

"Why don't you want to eat out there with him?" Alfred asked, already knowing the reason but wanting to get her to talk.

"Because I'm the last person he really wants to talk to." She sighed.

"Not true." Alfred countered. "In fact, breakfast with you was his idea."

"Really?" She was curious about why Bruce would suddenly want to have any kind of contact with her.

"Absolutely." Alfred replied. "Now can I tell him that you will be out there in just a few minutes?"

"Sure." She answered, figuring that she had to see and talk to him at some point and there was no time like the present. "Just let me change and I'll be right out."

"Wonderful." He smiled before leaving her room.

"She'll be right out." Alfred told Bruce as he sat out the breakfast plates on the balcony.

"Good." Bruce nodded. He had to admit that he was slightly nervous about talking to Lacy. He had to admit that he had been avoiding her since she woke up, but realized that they still had things they needed to talk about. He doubted that she wanted to live the rest of her life confined to his guest room.

Lacy had gotten dressed as quickly as possible, throwing on a pair of jeans and a loose-fitting sweater. She also ran a brush through her hair before heading out to the balcony. Taking a deep breath, she walked out onto the balcony and sat down across from Bruce.

She said nothing to him as she looked down at the plate of bacon, eggs, and French toast. She didn't even look at him, afraid of what she might see reflected in his eyes.

He noticed that she looked just as nervous as he did. That comforted him slightly, and also amused him. He picked up the butter knife and spread butter onto his French toast. "It's good that you are able to get up and move around so easily. How are you doing?"

"Fine." She replied, surprised to find that he sounded sincerely worried about her. Maybe he didn't hate her?

"It's a lovely day, isn't it?" He asked, wondering if she was going to continue giving him one word answers.

"Yeah." She nodded, focusing on her plate.

"You know," he sighed, "this will work better if you give me more than one word answers and it wouldn't hurt you to look at me."

"Sorry." She apologized, slowly bringing her gaze up to meet his eyes. "I'm just not sure how to act around you right now."

"Well I guess you can join the club." He admitted. "Because I'm not sure how to act around you either."

Despite herself, she found herself chuckling at his admission. "Well then I guess we have that in common."

"Yeah." He agreed. "I guess we do."

She took a few bites of her food before putting her fork down. "I guess I should probably thank you for saving my life and making the police fake my death. You really didn't have to, but you did for some reason. So thanks." Although a large part of her still wished that he hadn't saved her life, she didn't want him to think that she was being ungrateful.

"You're welcome." He replied, studying her closely. "But I get the feeling that you didn't want me to?"

"It's complicated." She answered honestly.

"I've grown accustomed to complications in my life." He told her. "Want to explain it?"

"Not really." She shook her head. "I'm sure the last thing you really want to hear right now is me whining about my life."

"Ok." He said. She was wrong. He wouldn't mind hearing her explain why she was so upset about the fact that she was still alive. But maybe he could get her to tell him later. "So would you mind answering a few questions for me?"

She shook her head. "I don't mind. The way I see it, I kind of owe it to you to answer whatever it is you want to know."

"Ok." He thought about which question to ask first, finally settling on one. "I guess my first question has to be this. What was real and what was fake between us? Were you spying on me for him from the beginning? Were you working for him?"

"God no!" She assured him. "I didn't associate myself with you because of him. I did it because of me." She noted the confused look on his face and explained.

"When I met you after I gave my presentation I was intrigued by you. You were charming, but not in a sleazy way, and you were funny. The more time I spent with you the more I liked you. I realize that I was incredibly selfish pulling you into my world like that, but you gave me something that I hadn't gotten in a long time."

She stopped, unsure if she should go on. But there really wasn't anything left to lose by telling the truth so she continued. "You gave me hope and strength. Up until when I met you I was content letting myself be the Joker's doormat. I had allowed myself to become something that I swore I would never be. But then you showed me that I was worth more than that and you returned my backbone to me."

"I'm not trying to tell you this so you'll think 'oh poor Lacy' but he played mind games with me constantly. He tore me down until I couldn't even recognize myself in the mirror. I had become a shell of who I used to be. And then I met you and you changed that. You gave me back my pride."

"I know it sounds corny and stupid, but it's the way I feel. I never told him anything about you. I assume he found out about you being Batman because of the cameras and microphones he placed in my apartment—which by the way I didn't know about or else I never would have said anything about it to begin with. I still feel terrible that he knows your secret."

He watched her answer his question, studying her carefully. He could tell that she was telling him the truth and appreciated her candor. He had really wanted to believe that she hadn't been his friend because she was working for the Joker and realized now that Alfred might have been right again. Maybe she really was just a pawn in the Joker's chess game.

"It doesn't matter." Bruce shrugged. "The Joker won't get a chance to tell anyone about it. He's under tight security and even if he did blab it to a guard, they wouldn't think it was anything other than the ramblings of an unstable criminal."

"But what about when he gets out?" She asked quietly. "I mean, this new cell might hold him for a while, but he won't let himself stay caged for long."

"Well I'll deal with him then, when the time comes." He answered, knowing she was right. He wasn't going to stay locked up forever. And truthfully, he was looking forward to the day that he could finally take care of the Joker once and for all.

A/N: I have made a sort of fanmix to give you a taste of the musical inspiration for this story. They are just some of the songs that I listened to while planning/writing. The link for the fanmix will be on my profile page if you are interested!


	58. Chapter 58

Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Ok, so we've finally come to the end of the road on this story. This is going to be the last chapter. I can't believe that this story ended up being fifty-eight chapters and over a hundred thousand words. When I first started writing I figured it would be a short story with maybe twenty chapters, but apparently my muse had other ideas! Anyway, I hope you all have enjoyed the ride as much as I have.

Chapter Fifty-Eight

"So why didn't you ever tell me about him?" Bruce asked when they were almost done with breakfast.

"Probably for the same reasons you didn't tell me about Batman." She replied honestly.

"I didn't tell you because I wasn't sure I could trust you." He admitted.

"Well I guess it wasn't the same reason then." She let out a nervous laugh. "Since I didn't tell you because I was ashamed and afraid."

"I guess I hadn't considered the fact that you might be ashamed." He told her.

"Well I certainly didn't like the fact that I was associating with him." She explained.

"But what were you afraid of?" He couldn't help but be curious. "Him?"

"Him." She nodded, adding "and you."

"Me?" He laughed. "Why would you be afraid of me? I've never hurt you."

"I wasn't afraid that you would hurt me." She explained. "I was afraid of looking in your eyes and seeing the look that I see right now."

He chuckled softly. "I didn't realize I was giving you a look."

"You are." She assured him. "It's a look of hurt mixed with anger and disappointment. I especially hate the look of disappointment. My parents found it sort of humorous. I never got that upset if they were mad at me. If I did something wrong they could yell at me all day and I never really cared that much. But all it took was one look of disappointment from them and I would burst out into tears."

She continued on, bringing herself out from the past reverie. "I don't necessarily like that you're angry with me, although I understand it and deserve it. What I've done is unforgivable. But I just wanted to avoid having you look at me like that. You'll never be able to look at me the same way again."

"No, I won't. You're right." He nodded. "My anger with you is completely justified, but I don't know if what you've done if unforgivable yet."

She stopped looking at her plate and glanced up at him with a confused look on her face. "It is unforgivable Bruce. I let him go around town and kill anyone he wanted. He killed people you cared about and I stood around and didn't do a damn thing to stop him."

She sighed. "Now I appreciate the fact that you had the police fake my death and then went to all this trouble to save my life but it's not worth it. I'm not worth it. You should have just let me die in that car."

"Is that what you really want?" He asked. "You really want to be dead?"

"It would be better than this." She had to admit, blinking back the tears. "I mean, honestly, what am I supposed to do now? I can't stay here in Gotham. So I'm going to have to move, change my name, change my appearance and hope to God that no one ever realizes who I am. I can't live a normal life and will forever be branded as belonging to the Joker. So yes, there are certainly times when death seems like a better option than living."

"I can't imagine what it must be like for you to have that carved onto your stomach." He told her. "But it's going to get better. I promise you."

She laughed sarcastically. "And that's another thing. Why are you being so nice to me? I don't deserve it and to honest it's sort of freaking me out a little. You should hate me right now, probably even more than the rest of the city."

"I don't hate you, although I can't say I'm not extremely angry with you." He explained. "But Alfred believes in you. He says that you aren't entirely to blame for everything and that I should give you a second chance. Since he's rarely ever been wrong about something like this, I figure that I should listen."

She sighed. "Alfred is a sweet man. I'm glad that the Joker didn't kill him."

"Thanks to your help." Bruce noted. "I never thanked you for helping me find the warehouse."

"You don't need to." She assured him. "I didn't do it to score points with you or anything. I did it because I didn't want to see him kill Alfred. I don't want to see him kill anyone else."

"I know. Well I appreciate your help and I know Alfred does too." He told her. "Look, Lacy, I'm trying not be mad at you. Alfred told me what you two talked about while being held in the warehouse and I guess I understand things a little better. But that doesn't mean that I can automatically forgive you."

"I understand." She said.

"I want to forgive you. I really do. I'm just not ready yet." He explained.

"That's fine." She told him with a sigh. "I don't expect you to forgive me."

"Why not?" He asked out of curiosity.

"How can I expect you to forgive me when I can't forgive myself?" She pointed out.

"Good point." He nodded. There were several moments of silence and he looked at his watch. There was a Wayne Enterprises board meeting he had to get to soon but he had to bring up one more thing with her.

"There's actually one more thing I really need to talk to you about right now." He started. "You're right to assume that you will have to move. I was thinking that you could go to Los Angeles. Wayne Enterprises has a west coast office over there and I can set you up with a job and an apartment."

"You don't have to do that." She protested.

"I know I don't, but I want to." He assured her. "Also, it might not be a bad idea to change your hair color and start letting it grow out or maybe get a wig until it does. And maybe start wearing contact lenses to change your eye color. It's not likely that people in L.A. will be able to recognize you, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

She hadn't thought about changing her eye color with contacts but it was a good idea. "I was thinking that I should change my name too."

"Absolutely." He agreed. "Any ideas on what you want your new name to be?"

She had thought about it for awhile and already had a name picked out. "I've decided on Angela Vandeley."

"Ok." He took out a pen from his pocket and wrote it down on a napkin. "I'll get the paperwork started on that. Just tell Alfred about anything else you will need in order to change your appearance. He'll get whatever you want."

"Ok." She replied.

He looked down at the name which held her new name. "I should be able to get all the paperwork you need in a couple of days. If you are feeling up to it, you might be able to go to L.A. by the end of the week."

"Great." She feigned enthusiasm. It wasn't that she didn't want to move so much as she still wasn't sure what she was going to do with the rest of her life.

"If you will excuse me, I have to get going to a board meeting." He said, standing up.

"Have fun." She called after him. Once he was gone, she took a deep breath and let her mind wander. She still felt like she should have died, but for some reason she was still here on Earth. The question remained why. Why was she given a second chance?

It only took a few moments of thinking to come to a conclusion about why she was still here. It was quite simple. She was still alive because she was supposed to kill the Joker. She thought back to a conversation she had with Chris.

"_I want to give you this."_

"_What is it?" She asked as she took the key and examined it._

"_It's a key to a locker that I have at the train station. It's where I keep my more personal belongings that I don't want others to know about." He explained._

"_Why are you giving me a key to that?" She didn't understand._

"_I'm not dumb." He told her. "I realize that I've gotten in way over my head here and my time left on Earth could very well be limited. I would feel better if you had access to my stuff."_

"_I…" She wanted to protest this but he cut her off._

"_Now before you say anything, hear me out." He interrupted, figuring that she would have questions about why he was trusting her with this. "All the money is in there because I don't trust banks. If I'm gone, I want you to do something good with the money. Donate it to charity or something. I don't care what you do with it. I just want it to go to a good cause."_

Chris had wanted the money to go towards helping a good cause, and she couldn't think of a better, more appropriate cause than helping her kill his killer. She didn't know how much was in the locker and truthfully didn't care. Any amount would be of help to her in her new quest.

She would have to have Alfred go get the key and bring her the bag from the train station since she wasn't supposed to leave the penthouse. She would add that to the list of things she needed him to do for her, along with getting the items necessary to change her appearance.

She would do what Bruce wanted her to do, which was go to L.A. and 'start a new life'. But when the Joker escapes and it's only a matter of time until he does, she'll be back. After all, they have unfinished business.

But this time, she'll be the one with the upper hand because he won't be looking for a dead woman. An evil grin slowly formed on her face, the first genuine smile she had shown in days. She smiled because she realized that she will finally be the one in control.

A/N: A HUGE thanks goes out to everyone who has been reading and supporting this story, even if you haven't been reviewing! But a special thanks goes out to LiVe-yOur-fAntasY, vashsunglasses, Angelintheshadows15, The Mischief, .fire333, The Spooky Mulder, Kimirka, denique, Grace Dark, Punk Whatsername 90, juicycouturevalerie, PhantasmBunny, xxFEATHERSxx, Tamaera, mydaysgreen, MandaMorgan, Morose Scarlet, Asian Psycho, hayly baby, PurgatoryNymphe, Forever secretive, sapphobrazil, and scoobs for their wonderful feedback.

I know that this chapter left some loose ends. Don't worry! Any and all loose ends will be tied up in the sequel, called "Control". I have some interesting twists and turns planned for everyone so be on the lookout for "Control" to debut sometime this week.


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